Dannenbkrg v. Evans

• Decision Date: 30 September 1883
• Citation: 71 Ga. 753
• Parties: Nussbaun & Dannenbkrg. vs. Evans, administrator.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

71 Ga. 753

Nussbaun & Dannenbkrg. vs. Evans, administrator.

Supreme Court of the State of Georgia

SEPTEMBER TERM, 1883.

Wills. Legacies. Title. Estates. Before Judge Cars-well. Screven Superior Court. May Term, 1883.

Reported in the decision.

Black & Dell; R. O. Lovett; J. D. Ashton, by H. E.

W. Palmer, for plaintiffs in error.

No appearance for defendant.

Hall, Justice.

Alexander Kemp died in 1859, leaving a widow and eight minor children, four sons and four daughters, and also quite a large estate, which was disposed of by his will.

To each of his sons he bequeathed certain personal property, to be placed in their possession when and as each attained his majority. This was a bequest expressly in fee simple, in the various items making this bequest of personalty; there was also a devise of realty, of which they were to have the usufruct after attaining majority, expressly for life; and at their respective deaths the lands thus devised to each of them were given to the children of each devisee, and to the issue of such of his children as might then be dead, to be divided among them according to the statute of distributions. Similar provision was made for each of the daughters, with the addition of securing the bequest to the sole and separate use of each of them, free from the debts, etc., of any husband with whom each of them might intermarry.

The eleventh item of the will directed that all the property therein bequeathed to his children should be kept together by his executors and executrix (who was his widow); that the plantation on which he resided should be used as the home of his family, and worked to the best advantage by the executors, until the times should respectively arrive for the legacies to be delivered to each of the legatees; that all the balance of the property not therein bequeathed should be kept together until the youngest daughter either married or became of age, and worked to the best advantage for his wife and children, and that the proceeds or anneal income thereof should be appropriated to the proper education and support of his minor children, and to the support of his wife, until the youngest child became of age, or married, at which time he directed his executors, after appropriating a sufficiency for the comfortable support of his wife during the remainder of her life, to divide the balance of his estate among his issue,, on the following basis: that is to say, that each legatee is to account for the value of the special legacy bequeathed, at the time he received it, and was then to receive such further sum as would equalize the amount each received under the will; it being his purpose to give to each of his children an equal amount; and in thus equalizing their respective amounts, he directed that the lands loaned each of his sons, and given to each of. his daughters, for life, should be charged to them respectively, at its fee simple value.

No provision is made by the will in case one of the devisees shall die before marriage, or where no child, or the offspring of child, is in. being at the death of the devisee. Nor is there any residuary bequest in the will. The wife was appointed guardian of the person of the minors, but no testamentary guardian of their property was appointed. This was considered unnecessary by the testator, inasmuch as each devise...