Tucker v. Lungren

12 Ohio C.C. 622
CourtOhio Circuit Courts
DecidedSeptember 15, 1890
StatusPublished

This text of 12 Ohio C.C. 622 (Tucker v. Lungren) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Circuit Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tucker v. Lungren, 12 Ohio C.C. 622 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1890).

Opinion

Haynes, J.

This case comes into this court by way of appeal, and the-subject matter relates to a claim of contribution. Primarily, it relates to a claim that is made by the administrator of' the estate of Dr. Samuel S. Lungren as to whether he is entitled to the proceeds of certain property that was sold on partition sale, for the purpose of paying off the indebtedness of the estate.

The facts show that Dr. Lungren died testate in the-month of March, 1892. The Doctor had been a practicing physician for some years in the city of Toledo, and was-possessed of certain accounts and real estate, and also had certain life insurance policies on his own life. The will provided, first:

“I do desire that all my debts and liabilities, of whatsoever kind, owing by me at my death, shall be paid from money derived from accounts due me for medical services rendered. ”

And then he wills to his wife certain property, and to his children certain property; among other things he wills to his wife, Mary F. Lungren, and to his youngest daughter Virginia, otherwise known as Daisy, “to share in equal proportion, the residence now occupied by myself, together with the appurtenances thereto belonging, said premises being more particularly described as follows, viz: Lot 450 Port Lawrence Division, and that part of lot 1417 Vistula Division of the city of Toledo, Lucas county, Ohio, now standing in my name on the county records and owned by me.” This property, at the time, was encumbered with a [624]*624mortgage of $4,000, being a part of the purchase price of the premises, and was unpaid at the time of his death; and it is in relation to the paying off of this mortgage that this controversy has occurred. He then gives to his youngest daughter the proceeds of a policy of insurance on his life for $3,000, in the New York Life Insurance Company. “This policy was formerly payable to Mary F. Lungren, but has been transferred to my estate by said insurance company.” He then wills to his wife Mary F. Lungren, and to his youngest daughter, Virginia Lungren, “in equal proportions, to be by them divided as they may agree, all my personal property of whatsoever nature and kind, save and except as set forth in item 4th, to Charles Marshall Lungren, and item 5 to Virginia Lungren, otherwise known as Daisy. The bequest in this item six I desire to cover and include all the residue remaining from debts due me, whether shown by my book of accounts or otherwise, after having paid all liabilities of my own provided for in item one hereof.” He then gives and bequeaths to his five children in equal parts, to share and share alike, 40 acres of land, more or less, in Green county, Iowa; 80 acres in Lucas county, Ohio, and 25 lots in Lenk’s addition to the city of Toledo; also to be divided in the same manner the proceeds of a certain policy of insurance on his life in the sum of $10,000 in the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, of Hartford, Conn. He also willed that certain real estate that was held in trust by L. S. Baumgardner and all other property heretofore devised, should go to his estate, and after the payment of the debts owing by him,should be divided according to law.

The general debts have all been paid, and the accounts have ail been collected and exhausted. There is in the hands of the administrator the sum of $1,100, received from the sale of some property, and there is in the common pleas court a certain amount of money arising from the sale [625]*625■of these lots in Lenk’s addition. One of the heirs filed a petition in partition in the court of common pleas, and such proceedings were had that the lots were sold, and upon those partition proceedings the sale was confirmed, and the money received therefrom is now in the hands of the court, or is subject to the order of distribution by the court. The administrator of Doctor Lungren’s estate says that there is ■due on the notes secured by the mortgage upon the home property $4,000, which has been allowed as a valid claim •against the estate, and he prays that this money, which is now in the hands of the court, be turned over to him to apply in the payment of that debt, and thus relieve the mortgaged property from the payment of the debt; and the parties holding that property are here asking for the same ■order or judgment. Thus the question which arises here is whether either the administrator or those parties holding that estate, have a right to call upon these five heirs who own this Lenk property,for contribution for the payment of that mortgage. And there is also another question, as to whether the property that was devised to the different heirs which arose from the life insurance, after that money has been collected and divided among the respective heirs, shall be subject to contribution, so far as is necessary, for the payment of that $4,000 mortgage.

It will be seen that by the terms of the will Dr. Lungren gave to the wife and Virginia the homestead property by name; that at the time he made his will that property was subject to the purchase-money mortgage, and that his interest in it was the equity of redemption. He owned these lots in Lenk’s addition, and they were free from encumbrance when he willed them to his five children absolutely. It is claimed here, first, that there being debts owing by the estate, to-wit: the debts arising upon the notes secured by this mortgage, the debt itself being the principal and the mortgage being to secure it, that the adminis[626]*626trator has the right to the proceeds of all property belonging to the decedent for the purpose of paying off that debt, and that in as much as there is no general fund in his' hands, the general estate having been exhausted, he has a right to have this life insurance of $10,000 placed in his-hands to use for the purpose of paying off that mortgage; that that money having been distributed among the heirs, he has a right to call upon them for contribution, and in like manner he has a right to have this money which arises-from the sale of these lots, at least so far as is necessary, to-reimburse the insurance fund, paid into his hands for the-purpose of paying this debt. We were cited by counsel toJarman on Wills, as laying down the general rule in regard to charges on estates. He says, page 1440:

“As to the general right of a devisee,in cases not affected by the statute, to be exonerated from an incumbrance to which the testator, either before or after the making of his will, has subjected the devised estate, there cannot, at this-day, be any doubt or controversy. And it is clear that the-legatee of any chattel, specially bequeathed, has the same right.

“Thus, where a testator holding lands for which he received rent and paid a head-rent, died leaving arrears of' rent due to him, which he specifically bequeathed, and also-arrears of head-rent due from him, it was held that the latter-must be paid out of the general personal estate in exoneration of the specific legatee.

“So a sum due from the testator to his lessor,in respect of a renewal granted during the testator’s lifetime, is payable out of the general personal estate, in exoneration of a specific legatee of the leasehold. And the specific legatee of leaseholds, on which the testator had covenanted to build, has been held entitled to have the covenant performed at the expense of the general personal estate, although the time for performing the covenant has not expired. But where a lessee was liable for dilapidations at the time of his death, it' was held that his specific legatee must himself bear the cost, of repairs.

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Bluebook (online)
12 Ohio C.C. 622, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tucker-v-lungren-ohiocirct-1890.