Jay v. Jay, 1 Div. 706
| Decision Date | 28 September 1972 |
| Docket Number | 1 Div. 706 |
| Citation | 289 Ala. 513,268 So.2d 788 |
| Parties | Clydie B. JAY v. W. A. JAY, Individually and as Executor, etc., et al. |
| Court | Alabama Supreme Court |
John M. Coxwell and Nicholas S. Hare, Monroeville, for appellant.
Windell C. Owens, Monroeville, Broox G. Garrett, Brewton, for appellees.
This appeal seeks a review of those portions of a decree of the Circuit Court of Monroe County, in Equity, establishing appellant's rights in the estate of her deceased husband.
The appellant Clydie B. Jay is the widow of W. M. Jay; the appellee W. A. Jay is executor of the estate of W. M. Jay, and is a brother of said decedent, and appellees Stinson Jay and W. C. Jay are sons of W. A. Jay. The will of W. M. Jay designated the appellees as beneficiaries and made no provision for or mention of appellant. The decedent left personal property and some 390 acres of land in Monroe County, Alabama on which he resided and conducted a cattle farming operation.
By decree dated December 10, 1968 appellant and W. M. Jay were divorced. He died in January, 1969 and his will was probated and appellee W. A. Jay was appointed as executor.
On January 2, 1970 the appellant filed her bill of complaint against the appellees asking that the decree of divorce severing her marriage with W. M. Jay be set aside for fraud and duress in its procurement and that her rights in the estate of W. M. Jay including quarantine, dower and homestead be established. The appellees filed an answer and cross bill alleging among other things, a settlement. Appellant answered the cross bill and later amended her bill of complaint. Testimony was taken orally before the court on several occasions.
On July 21, 1970 the trial court set aside the December 10, 1968 divorce decree, holding it null and void, nunc pro tunc, as having been procured through fraud. The trial court also reserved the cause for determination of other issues and ordered appellee W. A. Jay as executor of the estate of W. M. Jay to file a complete inventory of the assets of said estate. Upon motion of appellant, the executor W. A. Jay filed his accounts for final settlement of the estate. Appellant filed objections to the accounting, some of which were sustained and others dismissed on a hearing of those issues. On June 22, 1971 the trial court entered its Amended Final Decree establishing the rights of appellant as the widow of W. M. Jay, passing on the accounts of the executor and determining that the widow owed the executor a balance of $970.90. The decree further directed the Register of the court to secure the services of competent persons to make an allotment of the homestead and assign dower in the remaining land to the widow. By further Amended Final Decree the court taxed the costs of the proceedings one-half against the appellant and one-half against the appellees.
The appellant assigned seventeen separate errors allegedly committed by the trial court. These can be grouped and summarized briefly as follows:
(1) Error in refusing to allow the widow her rights of quarantine; (2) error in dividing certain oil lease rentals and certain payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture equally between the widow and the executor; (3) error in the court's findings as to the rental value of the lands of the estate and the apportionment of such rentals; (4) error in allowing the executor credits for certain expenses paid after the death of W. M. Jay including partial credit for expenses for wire, posts, fences, and handling the cattle operation from January 1, 1970 to May 25, 1971; (5) error in instructions to the Register as to the manner of determining the extent of the homestead allotment; (7) error in allowing the executor credit for expenses for which he produced no supporting vouchers; and (8) error in taxing one-half of the court costs to appellant.
The voiding of the divorce decree, nunc pro tunc, has the effect of returning the parties to the status they held immediately prior to the rendering of the void decree and dates from that point in time. Consequently, the appellant is and at all times has been the lawful widow of W. M. Jay from the instant of his death. In view of such status of the widow under § 50, Title 34, Code of Ala.1940, Recomp.1958, as we interpret it, appellant is entitled to full rights of quarantine in the dwelling house where her late husband resided immediately before death, with the appurtenant buildings and the plantation connected therewith from the moment of his death until such time as her dower be assigned. It follows that under the provisions of said § 50 the appellant is entitled to the rents and profits of the homestead and the plantation connected therewith, regardless of area. Smith v. Persons, 285 Ala. 48, 228 So.2d 806; Hale v. Cox, 240 Ala. 622, 200 So. 772; Callahan v. Nelson, 128 Ala. 671, 29 So. 555; Reeves v. Brooks, 80 Ala. 26.
Consistent with the above holding we find that the trial court erred in ignoring appellant's right of quarantine and in dividing the oil lease rentals, the U.S. Department of Agriculture payments and the rentals on pasture and croplands used by appellees for two and one-half years. Appellant as widow was entitled by law to the full amount of rents and profits from the land during quarantine. As to the trial court's determination of the fair rental value of the deceased's lands, such was a matter within the sound discretion of the court below and will not be disturbed on appeal.
Appellant argues in brief that the appellee, W. A. Jay, as executor, should not have been allowed credit for expenses incurred by him in continuing the cattle farming operation conducted by the decedent. The basis of this argument is that W. A. Jay as executor was not specifically authorized by the will or by court order to carry on such business operation. Appellant cites Webb v. Webb, 250 Ala. 194, 33 So.2d 909, as authority for her contention. We cannot agree that Webb supports her argument. To the contrary, Webb recognizes a distinction between those actions which benefit the estate and those which are not in fact beneficial to the estate. Dr. Webb's estate was not allowed credit for the purchase of equipment and supplies used solely for his benefit and not for the benefit of the estate he was administering. On the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Mordecai v. Scott
...homestead rights, the homestead can be set aside to the widow and/or minor children as provided in Section 661. Cf. Jay v. Jay, 289 Ala. 513, 518, 268 So.2d 788, 792 (1972). Neither the surviving husband 4 nor collateral heirs have rights under the homestead laws. See Title 7, Section 669, ......
-
Meriwether v. Crown Inv. Corp., 6 Div. 879
...... the normal course of business." The minor appellants' related assignments of error are numbered 1, 4, and 5, and take the point that the admission of complainants' exhibit number nine, i.e., the ......
-
American States Ins. Co. v. Copeland
...are produced is a matter for the trial court's discretion and will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous. Jay v. Jay, 289 Ala. 513, 517, 268 So.2d 788, 791 (1972). Thus, the trial court's determination on this matter will not be Turning to the $20,051.62 credit given to the administratr......
-
Hayden v. Robinson
...under the provisions of § 50, Title 34, supra, to receive the proceeds generated from the rental of the farmland. Jay v. Jay, 289 Ala. 513, 268 So.2d 788 (Ala.1972). The repairs and improvements that she made to the house were productive efforts and consistent with a permissive occupancy ov......