Hill v. Havens

• Decision Date: 10 July 1951
• Docket Number: No. 47824,47824
• Citation: 242 Iowa 920,48 N.W.2d 870
• Parties: HILL et al. v. HAVENS et al.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 870

48 N.W.2d 870

242 Iowa 920

HILL et al. v. HAVENS et al.

No. 47824.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

July 10, 1951.

Stuart & Stuart, of Chariton, for appellants.

Guernsey & Powers, of Centerville, for appellees.

THOMPSON, Justice.

The plaintiff, Edna Hill, is an adopted daughter of W. H. Havens, and the other plaintiffs are children of Nelson Havens, a deceased adopted son of W. H. Havens. W. H. Havens died on October 26, 1948, a resident of Appanoose county, Iowa. The defendant is his surviving widow. Both W. H. Havens and Eva Havens, the defendant, had been married before their union with each other, and Edna Hill and Nelson Havens had been adopted by W. H. Havens and his first wife. Defendant has a daughter, Doris Zimmer, by her previous marriage. W. H. Havens and Eva Havens were married on January 11, 1933, and no children were born to them. They lived together until the death of W. H. Havens.

Prior to September 17, 1947, W. H. Havens had for some time carried an account in the Centerville National Bank. On that date he changed the account so that it thereafter and until the time of his death stood in the name of himself and Eva Havens. He did this by signing, and procuring his wife's signature to, a signature card, which was filed with the bank, and upon the back of which appears this:

'Joint Account-Payable to Either or Survivor.

'We agree and declare that all funds now, or hereafter, deposited to this account are, and shall be, our joint property and owned by us as joint tenants with right of survivorship, and not as tenants in common; and upon the death of either of us any balance in said account shall become the absolute property of the survivor. The entire account or any part thereof may be withdrawn by, or upon the order of, either of us or the survivor.

'It is especially agreed that withdrawals of funds of the survivor shall be binding upon us and upon our heirs, legatees, assigns and personal representatives.

(Signed) 'W. H. Havens

(Signed) 'Mrs. Eva Havens.'

It is interesting to note that this card is identical in all respects, except for the signatures, with the one with which we were concerned in McManis v. Keokuk Savings Bank & Trust Company, 239 Iowa 1105, 33 N.W.2d 410. At the time of the death of W. H. Havens there was in this account the sum of $1,211.40, which is claimed by Eva Havens as her property.

On January 9, 1948, W. H. Havens, knowing himself to be afflicted with an incurable disease, made a will, which will be set out in full later herein. Prior to the time of making the will, he had from time to time purchased United States government bonds in the face value amount of $4,800, which were worth about $3,900 at the time of his death. Most of these were made out to W. H. Havens or Eva Havens, although a few, both in number and amount, were made to W. H. Havens, payable on death to Eva Havens.

W. H. Havens had been the owner of a sixty-acre farm which he had sold in the autumn of 1947. The final payment on this tract was made on March 1, 1948, in the sum of $6,800. Of this, W. H. Havens used $6,000 to purchase further United States government Series E bonds on March 2, 1948; and these he also directed to be issued to W. H. Havens or Eva Havens. At the time of his death these bonds, including both those purchased before the making of the will and those bought afterward, were of an actual value of $9,678. It is these bonds, and the bank account above referred to, which are the subject of this controversy.

For some time before his death, W. H. Havens had owned a ten-acre tract in the town of Mystic, upon which was a house used as the homestead of himself and his wife. However, about the month of April, 1948, he sold something over nine acres, not including the house; the final payment on this contract coming shortly before his death in the sum of about $700, and being deposited in the account in the Centerville National Bank. He had very little other property, except for household goods. The net amount of his estate, if the bank account and the actual value of the bonds are included, would not exceed $11,000. Excluding the account and the bonds, and of course, the furniture and the homestead which were specifically given to his widow, the defendant, by his will, his estate totalled slightly over $700; an amount insufficient to pay debts and costs of administration.

The will above referred to is herewith set out:

'I, W. H. Havens, of Mystic, Appanoose County, State of Iowa, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this My Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking and making null and void all other Wills and Testaments by me heretofore made. All property real, personal or mixed, of which I shall die seized or possessed, or to which I shall be entitled at the time of my decease, I give, devise, bequeath and dispose of in the manner following, to-wit:

Par. I

'My will is that all my just debts and funeral expenses shall first be paid out of my estate by my Executrix.

Par. II

'I give, devise and bequeath to my wife. Eva Havens, my homestead in Mystic, Iowa, consisting of ten acres of real estate, more particularly described as follows: North One-half of the South One-half of the Northeast Quarter of the Southeast Quarter of Section Eight, Township Sixty-nine North, Range Eighteen West of the 5th P. M. in Appanoose County, Iowa, except coal and right to mine and remove the same.

Par. III

'I give, devise and bequeath to my wife, Eva Havens, all household furniture, furnishing and utensils.

Par. IV

'All the rest and residue of my estate which I may own at the time of my death, I give, devise and bequeath to the following named persons and in the following shares: to my wife, Eva Havens, a one-fourth ( 1/4) share; to Edna Hill of Bloomfield, Iowa, a one-fourth ( 1/4) share; to my grandchild, W. H. Havens of Mystic, Iowa, a one-twelfth ( 1/12) share; to my grandchild, Virginia Havens, of Mystic, Iowa, a one-twelfth ( 1/12) share; to my grandchild, Robert Havens of Mystic, Iowa, a one-twelfth ( 1/12) share and to Doris Zimmer of Rock Island, Illinois, a one-fourth ( 1/4) share.

Par. V

'I do hereby nominate and appoint my wife, Eva Havens, to be the executrix of this my Last Will and Testament and I do excuse her from furnishing a bond.

'In Testimony Whereof, I, the said W. H. Havens, has subscribed my name this 9th day of January, 1948.

(Signed) 'W. H. Havens.'

Plaintiffs' petition alleges the making of the will; that all of the money deposited in the bank account was the property of W. H. Havens, that he furnished all of the consideration for the purchase of the bonds, and that his estate was otherwise insufficient to pay debts and costs and administration, so that there was nothing upon which Paragraph IV of the will, the residuary clause, might operate. It is therefore alleged that it was not the intent of W. H. Havens to create a joint tenancy in the bonds or bank account, but that the circumstances effect a resulting trust in his estate therein.

By way of answer, defendant alleges that there was a completed gift to her fo the personalty in controversy; that the bonds and money in the bank account were earned by the joint efforts of W. H. Havens and defendant, and that it was the clear expressed intent of W. H. Havens to set up a joint tenancy in the bank account and to make Eva Havens a co-owner or beneficiary of the bonds so that the absolute ownership would pass to her at his death. Evidence was taken upon the trial, much of it subject to objection; but since we are of the opinion that the case must be decided by well-established legal principles, we shall not delve deep into questions of admissibility, except in respect to the one evidentiary question discussed in Division II following.

I. It is plaintiffs' primary contention that, their action being in equity to establish a resulting trust, our holdings in In re Estate of Murdoch, 238 Iowa 898, 29 N.W.2d 177; McManis v. Keokuk Savings Bank & Trust Company, supra; and In re Estate of Murray, 236 Iowa 807, 20 N.W.2d 49, are not in point. With ingenuity deserving of a better fate, the able counsel who represent plaintiffs contend that those cases concern only legal titles, having been tried at law or in probate. Therefore, they say, the question of the real intent of W. H. Havens in setting up the bank deposit and in purchasing the bonds as he did is vital; and in the light of the determinations in Sinift v. Sinift, 229 Iowa 56, 293 N.W. 841; O'Brien v. Biegger, 233 Iowa 1179, 11 N.W.2d 412, and other earlier cases, evidence bearing upon that intent is proper and admissible. It follows, of course, that they contend that the evidence which they did produce upon this question was ample to swing the balance to their side of the scales, and that they are entitled to prevail because they have shown by the proper quantum of proof that W. H. Havens did not intend to make a valid and binding gift, contract, or joint tenancy; that, Eva Havens having furnished no part of the money going into the joint account or for the purchase of the bonds, a trust results in favor of W. H. Havens, (now his estate) and that the trial court was in error in failing to so hold.

For reasons hereinafter set out, we cannot agree that the question of intent was an open one in this case; but we also think that, even if it were, the plaintiffs failed to carry the burden of proof requisite to establish their case. They rely upon the will, plus the testimony of Charles L. Johnston, the attorney who drew it. It is true, of course, that there was little or nothing upon which the residuary clause of the will might operate, unless the bank account and bonds are included in the estate. Yet the will was essential if Eva Havens was to receive the homestead and furniture, and few wills are drawn without residuary provisions. Also, it must be pointed out that at the time the will was executed there was in the estate a...