Wallace v. Wallace

190 S.E. 293, 168 Va. 216, 1937 Va. LEXIS 218
CourtSupreme Court of Virginia
DecidedMarch 11, 1937
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 190 S.E. 293 (Wallace v. Wallace) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wallace v. Wallace, 190 S.E. 293, 168 Va. 216, 1937 Va. LEXIS 218 (Va. 1937).

Opinion

Holt, J.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

On January 27, 1916, Judge A. W. Wallace, now dead, by deed of that date, established a trust fund, in which he conveyed to H. Lewis Wallace, A. Hansford Wallace, Maxwell G. Wallace and Charles Wallace, in trust, numerous articles of personal property, bonds, stocks and evidences of indebtedness, including eighty-nine shares of National Bank of Fredericksburg stock. We are called upon to construe that portion of the deed which deals with this item.

The bill asking for this construction is filed by H. Lewis Wallace, Charles Wallace and Maxwell G. Wallace, trustees. S. G. Wallace and Lula B. Wallace are made defendants, both of whom have answered. The prayer of the bill is “that the court decree to whom the said dividends from the bank stock be paid and for such other and further relief, both general and special as to equity may seem meet, and the nature of the case may require.”

By the eleventh clause of this deed, the trustees were directed to dispose “of the rest of the property securities as conveyed in this deed as follows, subject to conditions hereinafter set out.” Afterwards appears this paragraph, the construction of which is in issue here:

“But the entire eleventh clause of this deed together with everything written above thereafter shall be subject to the following conditions, That the Eighty-Nine shares of Stock of the National Bank of Fredericksburg, Va., conveyed bv this deed shall be held by said Trustees and disposed of as follows: One-half of said Stock is to be transferred to H. Lewis Wallace for life with power after the [220]*220death of said A. W. Wallace to will the same, and if he should make no such will then to Maxwell G. Wallace. The other half of said Stock to be transferred to A. Hans-ford Wallace and Samuel G. Wallace, (brothers jointly for their joint lives or that of the survivor with power to will the same after the death of A. W. Wallace, and after the death of both of their wives, and on the failure to make such will or wills their said one-half is to go to H. Lewis Wallace and Maxwell G. Wallace, Charles Wallace absolutely. On failure of any of the trusts of this deed such interests shall go to H. Lewis Wallace and Maxwell G. Wallace absolutely."” .

After the death of Judge Wallace and at the request of the trustees the National Bank of Fredericksburg issued three separate certificates of stock, one for 44 54 shares in the name of H. Lewis Wallace, one for 22 54 shares in the name of A. Hansford Wallace, and one for 2254 shares in the name of Samuel G. Wallace, and said certificates of stock were delivered by said trustees to the respective parties in whose names the stock was issued.

Subsequent to the death of said A. W. Wallace, H. Lewis Wallace has received the dividends from the 4454 shares of said stock standing in his name, S. G. Wallace has received the dividends from the 2 2 54 shares of stock standing in his name, and A. Hansford Wallace received the dividends from the 2254 shares of stock standing in his name up until the date of his death.

Judge Wallace died on October 23, 1927, and A. Hans-ford Wallace died on March 13, 1934. In his will of date September 10, 1915, the latter left his entire estate to his wife, Lula B. Wallace. To that will was afterwards attached this codicil:

“I hereby bequeath my one-half joint life interest in forty-four and one-half (4454) shares of stock of the National Bank of Fredericksburg, conveyed to me and S. G. Wallace, jointly by deed of my uncle, A. W. Wallace, bearing date of January 27th, 1916, and of record in the Clerk’s Office of the Corporation Court, Deed Book P [221]*221after the death of my wife, Lula B. Wallace, to my cousin, Charles Wallace, son of the late J. Stansbury Wallace;

“I make this bequest pursuant to the terms of the aforesaid deed and by virtue of the power vested in me by said deed to dispose of my said interest in said Bank stock by will.”

Soon thereafter, at the request of the bank and possibly upon the suggestion of Samuel G. Wallace, these two stock certificates for twenty-two and a quarter shares of stock were delivered to it. At that time H. Lewis Wallace advised Mrs. Lula B. Wallace that such delivery would not affect her rights. After this delivery and on April 23, 1934, Mrs. Lula B. Wallace and Samuel G. Wallace received copies of a joint letter from the bank telling them that “The stock upon the death of A. W. Wallace should have been made out to ‘Hansford and Sam, jointly and for their joint lives and for that of the survivor’ pursuant to terms of trust deed of January 1916 of A. W. Wallace to H. Lewis, A. Hansford, Maxwell G. and Charles Wallace, trustees, for the whole 44/2 shares.”

These two certificates were cancelled and a new certificate for forty-four and one-half shares was issued to “A. Hansford Wallace and Samuel G. Wallace, jointly and for their joint lives and that of the survivor according to the terms of trust deed of A. W. Wallace to Maxwell G. Wallace, H. Lewis Wallace, A. Hansford Wallace and Charles Wallace, trustees, which trust deed is made a part hereof as if fully spread out herein.”

The bank was then of opinion that this should have been done in the first instance and so advised these holders.

Mrs. Wallace called the attention of H. Lewis Wallace to the fact that the certificate of stock issued was not issued in precise accordance with the language of said trust deed. To that contention he replied by letter and said:

“The bank certificate of stock is now in the name of ‘A. Hansford Wallace and Samuel G. Wallace, brothers jointly for their joint lives or that of the survivor, according to terms of trust deed of A. W. Wallace to H. [222]*222Lewis Wallace, A. Hansford Wallace, Maxwell G. Wallace and Charles Wallace, Trustees, which deed is made a part hereof as if spread out in full herein, which deed is dated January 27, 1916.’ ”

No dividends have been paid to Mrs. Wallace on this stock although they have accrued and have been declared but are held by the bank until their ownership can be ascertained. No evidence has been taken, and so this cause comes on to be heard upon the bill and separate answers of Samuel G. Wallace and Lula B. Wallace, together with exhibits.

Samuel G. Wallace contends that said bequests vested in him and in A. Hansford Wallace a joint estate in this stock and that he, as survivor, is entitled to all dividends which have accrued and which may accrue thereon from and after the death of A. Hansford Wallace for and during the period of his natural life.

Mrs. Wallace in her answer contends that “the tenor of the clauses disposing of said stock indicates, by necessary implication, an understanding and intention on the part of the grantor that the estate jointly granted to A. Hansford Wallace and Samuel G. Wallace should have the attributes of a tenancy in common, whereby the wives of A. Hansford Wallace and Samuel G. Wallace should inherit the income from their husbands’ share upon the death of either one of them and enjoy the same so long as either of said wives should be alive.”

And in her petition for appeal her present claims are thus stated:

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Bluebook (online)
190 S.E. 293, 168 Va. 216, 1937 Va. LEXIS 218, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wallace-v-wallace-va-1937.