Crites v. Crites
| Decision Date | 02 December 1920 |
| Docket Number | No. 21248.,21248. |
| Citation | 225 S.W. 990 |
| Parties | CRITES et al. v. CRITES et al. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Cape Girardeau County; Frank Kelly, Judge.
Action by Henry Crites and others against Jacob Crites and others. From a judgment for defendants, plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.
W. J. Roberts, of Oak Ridge, and Spradling & Burrough, of Cape Girardeau, for appellants.
Moses Whybark, of Cape Girardeau, and Samuel Bond, of Perryville, for respondents.
Action to define title to and partition certain lands in Cape Girardeau county. Daniel Crites is the common source of title. The defendant Polly Crites is his widow. The plaintiffs and the other defendants are his children. Before his death Daniel Crites made deeds to three of his sons, Jacob, Conrad, and George F. Crites to the lands in question. These deeds covered the several tracts or portions that each was to receive. The deeds were warranty deeds in form, but contained clauses which have been the source of the present action. After the description of the land, the deed to Jacob contains this clause:
"The said Daniel Crites is to hold possession of this deed as long as he lives, then Polly Crites, my wife, shall turn all of this deeds over to the said G. F. Crites and Conrad Crites and Jacob Crites, it is further requested that the money on hand at my death shall be equally divided."
The recited consideration was $100.:n the deed to Conrad the recited consideration is $500, and after the description of the property was this clause:
The deed to George F. Crites was for the same express consideration, and contained this clause:
"And it is further agreed that the said Daniel Crites and Polly Crites, his wife is to have a support out of this land as long as they both live at the death of the said Daniel Crites Polly Crites my wife shall turn all of this deeds over to the said G. F. Crites and Conrad Crites and Jacob Crites."
All these deeds bear date March 13, 1914, and have the certificate of the acknowledging notary of date March 14, 1914, and are signed by Daniel Crites alone. The deeds were dictated by Daniel Crites, as was also the following contract of the same date:
On March 16, 1914, each of the three girls (Sophia Friese, Mary E. Statler, and Sarah Jane Kibler) signed receipts for $300 each, in the following words:
On March 14, 1914, G. F. Crites and Conrad Crites each executed their notes in the sum of $450 as per the terms of the contract, supra. Both notes are in the same language, and the one signed by G. F. reads:
The deeds, the contract, the notes and the receipts appear to have been the instruments of a single transaction running from March 13th to 16th. It appears that Daniel Crites did not go before the notary in person, but that the deeds were taken to the notary by George F. Crites. This is the testimony of the notary. The deeds, contracts, notes, and receipts were given to the wife of Daniel Crites, and by her placed in a trunk, in which were kept papers of Daniel Crites, but to which the said wife carried the key, and the wife was to deliver the deeds after the death of Daniel. After the death of Daniel, his money was divided, each heir getting $436.10 and the widow, $400. The girls had gotten $300 each at the making of the deeds, but the boy Henry Crites had not, so that the other three boys made up $300 for Henry, which he got along with his $436.10. The trial court found that the title to the lands was in the three boys, to whom the deeds had been made, subject to the widow's dower and homestead rights. Further details will be left to the opinion. From this adverse judgment the plaintiffs have appealed.
I. It is first urged that there was no delivery of these deeds in the lifetime of Daniel Crites, and, secondly, that the deeds are testamentary in character. The discussion of either proposition will call for a little fuller statement of the facts. Daniel Crites had been married twice. The three grantees in the deeds were children by the second wife, who survived him. One of the girls was likewise her child. Daniel died in June, 1916. It appears that George F. and Conrad lived upon their father's place, and had years before built houses and barns upon the respective portions where they lived. They cultivated, free of rent, such portions of the lands as their father did not want to cultivate. Without compensation they helped the father with his work. It is in evidence that he had said to these three boys that if they would remain near him and assist him, he would give them the land. This, the boys did.
Finally, two years and a little more, before his death, the father concluded that he was unable to work longer, and the three boys were sent for, as also were the girls, and to them he outlined his plan, as such is clearly indicated by the several writings. He wanted the three boys to have the lands, but the two to whom he gave most was to keep the father and mother, likewise to pay $450 each. The other heirs were to get $300 each for their interest in the lands. There is no question but that they all understood this at the time, except Henry, who was not there. His money he wanted divided equally among all his heirs. He paid the girls their $300, and they receipted for it. Henry, for some...
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