In re Glandon's Estate
| Decision Date | 02 April 1935 |
| Docket Number | 42751. |
| Citation | 260 N.W. 12,219 Iowa 1094 |
| Parties | In re GLANDON'S ESTATE. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Appeal from District Court, Montgomery County; Ernest M. Miller Judge.
This is a proceedings in probate, wherein the executor of the estate asks for authority to sell certain lands of the deceased for the purpose of paying debts.
Affirmed.
Clifford Powell, of Red Oak, for appellant Almeda J. Conklin.
R. J Swanson and W. C. Ratcliff, both of Red Oak, for cross-appellant and appellee Minnie Elva Klepinger.
Paul W. Richards, of Red Oak, for appellee W. R. Chabot.
Hysham & Billings, of Red Oak, for appellee W. J. Roberts, executor.
So far as this appeal is concerned, the major question discussed turns upon the construction of the will of said Glandon.
The first item of this will provides for the payment of expenses of his last illness and funeral. The second item reads as follows:
" I will and direct that all tax and mortgage liens owing by me at the time of my decease on the land described in this Item be paid from the property of my estate, and to Almeda J. Conklin, niece of my wife, Amanda L. Glandon, now deceased, I will, devise and bequeath all the use, income and rents arising after my death and during her natural life from the North Half of the Northeast Quarter (N 1/2 NE 1/4 ) of Section Twenty (20), Township Seventy-one (71), Range Thirty-nine (39), West of the 5th P. M., in Montgomery County and State of Iowa, and subject to the above life estate, to the children of the body of said Almeda J. Conklin I will devise and bequeath said real estate above described in this Item."
Item 3 is as follows:
" To Minnie Elva Klepinger I will, devise and bequeath the following described premises situated in the County of Montgomery and State of Iowa, to wit:-The Northwest Quarter (NW 1/4 ) and the Southwest Quarter of the Northeast Quarter (SW 1/4 NE 1/4 ), all being in Section Twenty-one (21), Township Seventy-one (71) North; Range Thirty-nine (39), West of the 5th P. M., containing two hundred acres more or less, according to government survey, subject, however, to all tax and mortgage liens thereon at the time of my decease, which, if any, are to be assumed and paid by said Minnie Elva Klepinger, legatee; also all of my window shades, curtains, carpets, rugs, portiers, linoleum, dishes, piano, furniture and household goods not hereinafter bequeathed."
In item 4 a mahogany bedroom suite, with bedding, was devised and bequeathed to Beulah A. England.
Item 5 recites that, subject to all the bequests and provisions set forth in the four items above, he devised and bequeathed the sum of $1,000, and the automobile, to Lucilla Smith.
In item 6, subject to all the bequests and provisions set forth in the five items above, he orders that the balance, residue, and remainder of his property, both real, personal, and mixed, be converted into money and divided into four parts; and he then makes disposition of these four parts of the said proceeds.
The real bone of contention between these parties arises by reason of the provisions of item 2 and item 3 above set out.
This will was dated April 2, 1931, and Glandon died on the 15th of August, 1931. At the time of his death, he owned farm lands aggregating 572 acres, on which there was incumbrance of $29,100. This land has all been disposed of except the 80 acres referred to in item 2 of the will and the 120 acres referred to in item 3. There are unpaid claims against the estate amounting to over $2,000, aside from the mortgage of $4,194 on the 80 acres referred to in item 2. There is approximately $1,600 in cash on hand in the hands of the executor. This application by the executor is for authority to sell the land covered by items 2 and 3 of the will.
Minnie Elva Klepinger files a resistance to the petition of the executor, in which she insists, among other things, that item 3 of the will is not junior and inferior to item 2, or to any other item or provision of the will, and that none of the property described in items 2, 3, or 4 is subject to the payment of the mortgage and taxes described in item 2 of the will; and, further, that the property described in item 3 cannot be charged with the payment of general debts and costs of administration of the estate. She asks that the application for sale be denied and that the court fix and determine the pro rata share of the debts of said estate to be borne by the property described in item 3 of the will, and that she be given an opportunity to pay her pro rata share, thus fixed by the court, to the executor of the estate. Other legatees filed resistance. Certain parts of the record were stipulated and testimony was introduced as to the market value of the respective tracts of land covered by items 2 and 3.
Briefly stated, the record shows that Almeda J. Conklin, the beneficiary under item 2 of the will, is a widow sixty-one years of age and has four minor children. She was a niece of Mrs. Glandon (the...
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