In re Myers' Estate
| Decision Date | 14 December 1943 |
| Docket Number | 46285. |
| Citation | 12 N.W.2d 211,234 Iowa 502 |
| Parties | In re MYERS' ESTATE. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Rehearing Denied Feb. 11, 1944.
H. E. Newton, of Stuart, Allen T. Percy, of Dexter and Stipp, Perry, Bannister & Starzinger, of Des Moines for William M. Myers, Paul M. Wolf, and Lewis Jolley executors, or former executors, of will and estate of Benjamin F. Myers, deceased, William M. Myers, Paul M. Wolf and Lewis Jolley, Florence M. Wolf, Ada M. Jolley, Helen E. Heimberger, appellants.
H. E. Newton, of Stuart, for Allen T. Percy, appellant.
R. K. Craft, of Adel, for W. C. Southwick, administrator, appellee.
Charles I. Joy, of Perry, for Mary A. Myers, appellee.
Objections to final report of the executors were filed by W. C. Southwick, administrator with will annexed of the estate of Benjamin F. Myers, deceased, and Mary A. Myers, widow and devisee of said Benjamin F. Myers, and Lenore I. Sulgrove, daughter and legatee and devisee of said Benjamin F. Myers, against William M. Myers, Paul M. Wolf and Lewis Jolley, personally and as former executors of the estate of Benjamin F. Myers. The objections will be taken up separately. The court ruled that the executors were indebted in the amounts hereinafter set out. There was no allowance to the executors for services and their attorney, Allen T. Percy, was allowed the sum of $300. From this ruling of the court the executors appeal, and Allen T. Percy, attorney, appeals from the amount of the allowance to him.
Benjamin F. Myers died August 8, 1931, possessed of a considerable estate, including two farms, one in Dallas County of 240 acres and the other of 320 acres in Madison County. There was a mortgage of $10,000 on the west half of the Madison County farm to Bankers Life Company. Decedent also owed $5,121.99 to Valley National Bank on a note for money he had borrowed to carry on farming operations. There were other notes and obligations amounting to more than $4,000. During his lifetime Mr. Myers had operated the two farms under a partnership arrangement with his son, William M. Myers, who occupied the Dallas County farm, and his son-in-law, Paul M. Wolf, who occupied the Madison County farm. Decedent furnished and owned half of the livestock, grain and feed on the farms and the tenants provided and furnished their own farming equipment and labor. The income therefrom was divided equally between the owner and the tenants.
For a better understanding of some of the objections to the final report, it is necessary to note some provisions of the will, which was admitted to probate on August 19, 1931. After directing payment of debts the personal property of decedent was bequeathed to his five children, Florence M. Wolf, Ada M. Jolley, Helen E. Heimberger, William M. Myers and Lenore I. Shoff. Apparently Lenore I. Shoff, described as a daughter in the will, Lenore I. Myers, so described in the inventory, and Lenore I. Sulgrove, appellee and objector to the report of the executors, are one and the same person. A property in Dexter was devised to Mary A. Myers, the wife. The fourth clause of the will devises a life estate in the two farms to Mary A. Myers, and continues as follows:
The fifth clause of the will directs that the real estate shall not be mortgaged; and the sixth clause directs that after the death of testator and his wife his executors shall as soon as practicable and consistent for the best interests of the estate proceed to sell and convert into cash all of the real estate in which his wife was devised a life interest.
Seventh, the will directs a division of the net proceeds of the sale among the children named above.
The eighth clause of the will is important to the controversy before us. It provides as follows: "It is my wish and I hereby request that my beloved wife, Mary A. Myers, appoint the executors hereinafter named, as her agents, to lease for her benefit, the real estate described in Item Fourth hereof, collect the rents, attend to paying of taxes and making of necessary repairs to improvements thereon; thereby relieving my said wife of the work and worry connected therewith; and I further request that said real estate shall be rented for not less than Eight ($8.00) Dollars per acre nor more than Twelve ($12.00) Dollars per acre, using their best judgment as to the amount of rental for any year in accordance with the conditions prevailing at that time." The will further provides for determination of the proper amount of rental by arbitration in case the executors could not agree as to the amount thereof. The eighth clause continues, "and provided further that my son, William M. Myers, and son-in-law, Paul M. Wolf, shall be given the refusal of the farms which are now occupied by them as tenants, at the rental agreed upon by said executors or said committee selected by them, as the case may be."
The ninth clause provides: "It is my wish and I hereby request that if the fund realized from the rents and profits of the real estate described in Item Fourth hereof shall, on the first day of January in any year exceed the sum of Two Thousand ($2,000.00) Dollars and all taxes, repairs, insurance and living expenses of my said wife have been fully paid for the preceding year, that all surplus above said sum of Two Thousand ($2,000.00) Dollars be divided by my said wife, Mary A. Myers, among our children then living and the issue of any child who may have deceased, such issue taking the share to which such deceased child would have been entitled if living."
William M. Myers, Paul M. Wolf and Lewis Jolley were appointed executors and qualified as such August 20, 1931.
Orders were made by the court allowing $2,500 for support of the widow and authorizing the executors to continue the testator's business of feeding livestock. The inventory and preliminary inheritance tax report showed the widow and the heirs named above; fixed the value of the Dexter property at $3,500; the Dallas County farm at $42,000 and the Madison County farm at $52,000; accounts receivable at $10,831.52; cash, $822.50; note and mortgage on Minnesota land of W. J. Marsh for $5,450, which was later compromised for $1,000; household goods, $570; and general assets, including decedent's interest in the stock and property on the rented farms, $12,428.17. The Madison and Dallas County farms continued to be rented by Paul M. Wolf and William M. Myers, respectively.
Included in the inventory was certain indebtedness of the three executors, William M. Myers, $5,349.43; Paul M. Wolf, $4,379.55; and Lewis Jolley, $287.25, together with a note for $750 with interest amounting to $822.50. Payments were made on some of this indebtedness and the amounts due were evidenced by notes given by the various parties to the executors as follows: Paul M. Wolf on his note of April 25, 1932, computed with interest to the time of trial, $2,548.30; William M. Myers, balance found due at trial with interest on note executed April 25, 1932, $1,936.91; and Lewis Jolley on his note of June 1, 1930, with interest, $1,491.31, and on his note and account of $287.25 with interest, $529.15; all as found by the court to be due. Other matters in relation to the conduct of the estate will be referred to under the different objections as they are considered.
Dissatisfaction on the part of the widow, Mary A. Myers, and others, finally resulted in an application for the removal of the executors, and upon hearing the district court ordered their removal, which order was later affirmed by this court on October 15, 1940. See In re Estate of Myers, 229 Iowa 170, 294 N.W. 235.
Four intermediate reports were filed by the executors. The first report covered the period from August 20, 1931, to the date of such report, April 9, 1932, and showed a balance of cash on hand of $1,390.34. The second report, filed February 15, 1934, was in two parts, one entitled estate account, in which there was a balance of $95.43 belonging to the estate, and one entitled rent account, in which there was shown a balance of $14.26. This report also showed the amounts due from the executors as heretofore stated, and included also $360 owing by William M. Myers for 1,448 bushels of corn, $185 owing by Paul M. Wolf for 740 bushels of corn and $60 owing by Paul M. Wolf for 176 1/2 bushels of wheat. Later there were filed a third and fourth report of executors on November 19, 1934, and April 25, 1939, respectively.
On January 11, 1940, in accordance with an order of court, the executors filed their final report, to which objections were taken by the appellees herein. These objections were heard and on the 4th day of May, 1942, the court rendered judgment thereon. The appellants herein take exception to six of the findings and rulings of the court and these will be taken up in their order.
I. The court found the executors liable officially for the failure to collect from themselves personally the amounts they owed at the time of decedent's death, and to this ruling and order appellants take exception. Except as to one credit alleged to be due Paul M. Wolf of $1,065.61, which will be discussed later, the amounts found by the court as due the estate are not seriously in dispute, and were the amounts reported by the executors...
To continue reading
Request your trial