In re Holdorf's Estate
| Decision Date | 05 April 1940 |
| Docket Number | No. 44750.,44750. |
| Parties | In re HOLDORF'S ESTATE. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Appeal from District Court, Shelby County; Earl Peters, Judge.
This is an action by three of the five children of Charles Holdorf, deceased, and beneficiaries under his will, seeking an order declaring a bequest in favor of appellee in the will of said testator to be declared abated, lapsed, and of no force and effect. A similar attempt is made on the part of one of the heirs and beneficiary who was also one of the executors. Trial to the court, lower court denied the relief sought. The contestants have appealed. Opinion states the facts.
Affirmed.
John J. Hess, of Council Bluffs, for appellants.
Kimball, Peterson, Smith & Peterson, of Council Bluffs, for appellees.
G. C. Wyland, of Avoca, for estate of Charles Holdorf.
Charles Holdorf, whose will is under consideration, was for many years prior to his death a resident of Shelby County, Iowa, where as a thrifty and successful farmer he had accumulated an estate of considerable magnitude. At the time of his death, which occurred October 28, 1933, he left surviving him as his sole and only heirs at law and beneficiaries under his will his five children, William F. C. Holdorf, Ida Bladt, Elsie Holdorf Billingsley, Viola Holdorf Myers and Oren Holdorf, all of whom were then grown to manhood and womanhood.
During the month of August, 1928, Charles Holdorf conceived the idea of making a partial distribution of his estate to his five children. At that time he was the owner of Iowa farm land in excess of 600 acres, and in addition thereto he possessed a considerable amount of other property. He believed that Iowa farm land was the safest and soundest investment which could be made, and a heritage of this particular type was what he most desired to pass on to his children. He consulted with his attorney, and then submitted to each one of his five children the same proposition. That he would give to each child $15,600 in value in real estate, requiring each child to pay him 3 1/2% interest upon this amount or $546 per annum, annually during the joint lives of himself and his wife. He figured all of his land at the approximate value of $175 per acre. It must be kept in mind that this was in the year 1928 before the terrific drop in value of Iowa farm land, and no one says that it was not a fair value at that time. Charles Holdorf was thinking in terms of land rather than in terms of money. When he came to divide up his land, in his judgment,it could only be divided into four distinct farms. To meet this situation he concluded to give to two of his children, the son William and the daughter, Ida, an undivided one-half interest in 181.1 acres of land. All of his children with the exception of Ida accepted their father's proposition, and various pieces of farm land were deeded to them, and they executed and delivered to him an agreement to pay the annual sum of $546 during the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Holdorf.
One cannot read this record and come to any other conclusion but what it was the desire of this father to divide equally his property among his five children.
He transferred to four of his children, $15,600 worth of farm lands, and they executed agreements with him which will be referred to later in this opinion. In order that Ida, who had refused to accept the proposition made by her father, would receive her share he made a will dated August 23, 1928. It is over the construction of Paragraph 2 of this will that this controversy arises.
Paragraph 2 is as follows:
“In the event that I shall not have given unto my daughter, Ida Bladt, land of the value of $15,600.00 and received from her an annuity agreement for the payment of $546.00 per year to myself and wife during our joint lives and to the survivor of us, and in order to place her or her legal heirs upon an equality with my other four children to each of whom I have given and conveyed land of the value of $15,600.00 subject to such annuities, then and in that event I hereby authorize, empower and direct my executors to convey unto my said daughter, or to her heirs if she be dead, any of my land of which I shall die seized or possessed to the extent and value of $15,600.00 to be by her and her legal heirs selected, and in the event that I shall leave no land which she or her heirs desire to select, then I authorize, empower and direct my executors to purchase for her or her legal heirs and invest the sum of $15,600.00 of the funds of my estate in good Iowa land, she or her legal heirs to have a voice in the selection thereof, the title thereto to be invested in her or her legal heirs, but, in either event, she or they shall execute an agreement to pay my wife the sum of $546.00 per year annually on the first day of January of each year during the lifetime of my wife, the same to be made payable at the Avoca State Bank of Avoca, Iowa, and to draw interest at the rate of eight per cent after maturity, which said annuity shall be amply secured by a continuing lien on such real estate. In the event that my wife shall be dead at the time of making such conveyance to my said daughter or her legal heirs, such annuity shall not be exacted or required.
If my said daughter or her legal heirs fail to select such land of the value of $15,600.00 and have the title thereto vested in her or their names as provided, within one year from my death, then this bequest shall abate, lapse and become void and of no effect, it being my intention that my said daughter or her legal heirs shall not be entitled to receive such bequest otherwise than in land as above provided.”
On October 27, 1933, Charles Holdorf died and shortly thereafter the will was probated. The wife of the testator, Sophie Holdorf, having preceded him in death, and she being one of the executors named in the will, Ida Bladt was designated along with her brother, William, who was named in the will as one of the executors. On October 24, 1934, Ida Bladt filed an application setting forth that she is one of the executors of the last will and testament of Charles Holdorf. She then set out in full Item 2 of the will, that the said estate does not have money with which to purchase land of the value of $15,600 and will not have such money so that it could purchase land for Ida Bladt within the year as provided in the will.
The application then states:
“3. That Ida Bladt does hereby demand of the executors that they purchase for her good Iowa land of the value of $15,600.00 from funds of the estate when available. She demands of said executors that they purchase said land for her benefit, and stands ready to make recommendation and to have a voice in the selection at such time as said sum of $15,600.00 shall be available, and immediately thereafter. That at this time there would be no possibility of her designating or selecting said land inasmuch as the money is not available for the reason that the price of land is variable and could not be ascertained until such time as the money is available for such use.
4. That said Ida Bladt is now ready to perform each and every obligation resting upon her but is prevented from doing so because of the condition of the estate and the inability of the executors to purchase said land.
5. That said Ida Bladt is informed and believes that the money will be available eventually and that she should not be deprived of her interest in the estate to make it equal with the other heirs simply because the estate does not have funds with which to purchase land as provided in the will at this time.”
She then prays that her application be set down for hearing, upon such notice as the court may direct, and that the court make such order “as may be deemed just and equitable.”
Notice was given as...
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