Hutchinson v. Blanchard

• Decision Date: 05 January 1924
• Citation: 142 N.E. 47,247 Mass. 288
• Parties: HUTCHINSON v. BLANCHARD.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

247 Mass. 288

142 N.E. 47

HUTCHINSON

v.BLANCHARD.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Middlesex.

Jan. 5, 1924.

Appeal from Land Court, Middlesex County; C. T. Davis, Judge.

Petition by Walter K. Hutchinson to the Land Court for the registration of land, opposed by Roger Blanchard. Decree for petitioner, and objecting party appeals. Affirmed.

J. G. Brackett, of Boston, for petitioner.

R. Blanchard, pro se.

PIERCE, J.

This is a petition to the land court for the registration of three parcels of land, situate in Arlington and Lexington in the county of Middlesex, which lands were by deeds of grant and release conveyed to the petitioner, Walter K. Hutchinson, by Edwin B. Hale, trustee under the will of Charles H. Blanchard and acting under alleged licenses of the probate court for the county of Middlesex.

Hale in succession to one George B. Bigelow, then deceased, was appointed trustee under the will of Charles H. Blanchard in 1901, and duly qualified. The will gave to said Bigelow and his heirs, executors and administrators, all his real and personal property in trust, to pay to L. Josephine Wilson one-sixth of the net income from said trust estate during her natural life; and during the natural life of said Josephine to pay five-sixths of such net income to his children by her. The will provided further that ‘upon the decease of said L. Josephine Wilson’ I direct all of the trust estate with any accumulation be made over and conveyed to our said children. The will gave ‘said trustee full power to change investments at pleasure.’ The testator appointed said Bigelow the executor of his will and empowered--

‘the executor and the trustee under this will, whenever it may seem to him discreet and for the interest of the trust to sell, mortgage and convey any and all of the real or personal estate that I may leave, or may be held by said trustee, upon such terms and conditions as he may deem proper. * * * The proceeds of any such sale or mortgage to be used in satisfying any indebtedness of mine outstanding or any mortgage on any of my estate and the balance to be held upon the same trusts as the property hereby devised in trust.’

For the purpose of satisfying an outstanding mortgage given by the testator on certain real estate in Boston, held by the trustee, the trustee on May 22, 1919, petitioned the probate court for license to sell all the real estate described in the petition for registration to said Hutchinson for $6,000. The license was granted. Hutchinson paid the agreed price, which was fair and reasonable for the entire estate, and received of the trustee a deed which followed the description of the land in the petition and license but did not include, through mistake, the entire estate which the parties intended should be conveyed. Subsequent to the conveyance, Hutchinson entered into possession of the entire estate and expended large sums in improvements and paid the taxes thereon. In consequence of a notification that Hutchinson was about to institute proceedings to compel a conveyance of the remainder of the tract, the trustee, reciting the facts, petitioned the probate court on February 8, 1921, for leave to release any vested, contingent or possible right or interest which the trustee had in the entire estate. The petition was allowed. An appeal was taken to this court by a brother of the present respondent. The decree was affirmed and is reported as Hale v. Blanchard, 242 Mass. 262, 136 N. E. 102.

At the hearing for registration it appeared that L. Josephine Wilson, the beneficiary for life, died June 8,...