Massey v. Huntington
| Decision Date | 12 June 1886 |
| Citation | 7 N.E. 269,118 Ill. 80 |
| Parties | MASSEY and others v. HUNTINGTON. |
| Court | Illinois Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Error to superior court, Cook county.
This was a bill in equity brought by Fannie H. Rexford to set aside a deed, bill of sale, and a declaration in trust executed by the the complainant and Heber S. Rexford, Jr., her husband, to H. H. Massey, trustee, and Ephraim H. Denison, successor in trust. The three papers were executed on the fourteenth day of February, 1882. The deed, for an expressed consideration of one dollar and love and affection, and other good and valuable considerations, purported to convey five acres of land in Cook county, which was then owned by Heber S. Rexford, Jr. By the bill of sale, upon a like consideration, Heber S. and Fannie H. Rexford granted, bargained, sold, and delivered to Massey, trustee, and Denison, his successor in trust, a promissory note for $100 and an open account for $2,191.21 against Norman Rexford; also one certificate of insurance, No. 25,962, in the Lumberman's Lodge, No. 1,815, of Knights of Honor, for the sum of $2,000, bearing date the eleventh day of February, 1882, on the life of the said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., and payable at his death; also one policy of insurance issued by the Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, numbered 134,395, on the life of the said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., for the sum of $1,000, on the 10-year plan, dated May 13, A. D. 1875, and payable at his death. The declaration of trust provided that--
‘The above conveyance of the real estate therein described, and the above bill of sale of the personal property therein described, are respectively made, executed, and delivered by the undersigned, Heber S. Rexford, Jr., and Fannie H. Rexford, his wife, to the said Henry compensation for said trustee's trust, for the following uses and purposes, to-wit: To hold the personal property, with power to sell, to lease, or incumber the real estate,’ etc., ‘(1) to pay all necessary expenses, including reasonable compensation for said trustee's services attending the management of the property above conveyed, and the execution of the trust herein created; (2) to pay to the said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., during his life the sum of forty dollars ($40) per month, and such other amount as he may deem necessary from time to time, for the comfortable maintenance and support of the said Henry S. Rexford, Jr., and Fannie H. Rexford, his wife; and in case of the death of said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., before the death of the said Fannie H. Rexford, his wife, then and in that case the said Henry H. Massey, or his successor in trust, shall pay to the said Fannie H. Rexford during her life the sum of forty dollars ($40) per month, and from time to time such other sums as he may deem necessary for the comfortable support and maintenance of the said Fannie H. Rexford; and all the rest and residue of such proceeds as aforesaid, and any or all of said personal property described in above bill of sale as may remain in the hands of the said Henry H. Massey, or his successor in trust, at the death of the said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., should he survive the said Fannie H. Rexford, or at the death of the said Fannie H. Rexford, if she should survive the said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., the said Henry H. Massey or his successor in trust shall pay over and deliver the same to the following named persons, to-wit: Two hundred and fifty dollars ($250) to be paid to Mrs. Maria D. Huntington, of Blue Island, Cook county, Illinois, mother of Fannie H. Roxford, if she should survive the said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., and Fannie H. Rexford; if she should not survive the said Heber S. Rexford, Jr., and Fannie H. Rexford, then and in that event the said sum of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250) shall be divided, with the rest, residue, and remainder of the estate, as follows: One-quarter (1/4) thereof to Julia Rexford, mother of said Heber S. Rexford, Jr.; one-quarter (1/4) thereof to F. D. Rexford, of Centralia, Illinois; one-quarter (1/4) thereof to Norman B. Rexford, of Blue Island, Cook county, Illinois, and the remaining one-quarter thereof to Mrs. C. Caroline Massey, wife of said Henry H. Massey, of Blue Island, Cook county, Illinois, or to their or each of their administrators, executors, or assigns; and the said Henry H. Massey, or his successor in trust, shall, from the execution and delivery of this instrument, hold the legal title of said real estate above conveyed to him, subject to the other trust herein set forth, in trust for said Julia Rexford, F. D. Rexford, Norman B. Rexford, and C. Caroline Massey, share and share alike; and at the time of the distribution of any remainder of said personal property, or the proceeds thereof, and the rentals and incumbrances aforesaid, as above set forth, the said Henry H. Massey, or his successor in trust, shall made, execute, and deliver to the said Julia Rexford, F. D. Rexford, Norman B. Rexford, and C. Caroline Massey, or their or each of their heirs, legatees, or assigns, good and sufficient deed or deeds to convey the legal title of said real estate to them, whereupon this trust shall cease and be determined.’
The deed, bill of sale, and declaration of trust were acknowledged before a notary public on the day of their date, and delivered to the trustee, Massey, who filed them for record in the recorder's office of Cook county on the thirteenth day of May, 1882. Heber S. Rexford, Jr., died intestate on the twelfth day of May, 1882, leaving a widow, Fannie H. Rexford, but no child or children, or descendants of any child. On the fifth day of September, 1882, the widow filed this bill to set aside the deed, bill of sale, and declaration of trust on the ground of undue influence; the bill charging that the papers were executed without consideration, and that the complainant was overreached in the execution thereof. It is also charged in the bill that the papers executed were intended as a testamentary disposition of property, and hence not binding on the complainant. The complainant, Fannie H. Rexford, died October 27, 1882. Previous to her death she made a will devising all her estate to Bessie B. Huntington, her sister, who was substituted as a party complainant in the bill.
As respects the execution of the papers by Heber S. Rexford, Jr., it is apparent from the evidence that they were executed after mature deliberation, and with a full understanding of their terms, conditions, and the manner in which they would affect his rights, and also the rights of his wife. He and his wife were both in the last stages of consumption; and his desire, no doubt, was to make such a disposition of his property as would afford a reasonable support for himself and wife while living, and, after their death, have the remainder pass into the hands of his own relatives. While on a visit with a brother at Centralia, in January, 1882, he requested his brother to consult a lawyer as to the best mode of disposing of his property. It seems that Rexford's brother, after a consultation, informed him that the lawyer advised that a will might be defeated by an election of the widow, but that the matter might be arranged in the shape of a trust. Soon after this, Rexford returned to Cook county, and in an interview with Massey obtained his consent to act as trustee, and sent Massey, with a memorandum, to Judge Wallace to have the papers prepared. Wallace desired further information, which was obtained from Rexford, and within a few days the papers were prepared, and placed in the hands of Rexford and his wife for execution, and were executed and acknowledged as stated before. So far as appears there was no haste in the preparation or execution of the papers; but mature deliberation characterized the whole transaction.
But it is said that Fannie H. Rexford, the wife, had not understood the nature of the papers, and they were a fraud upon her rights. She never testified in the case, and what might have been her account of the transaction, had she been called upon as a witness, is mere conjecture. The evidence of the notary public before whom they acknowledged the papers is in the record. He stated that the papers were acknowledged on the evening of February 14, 1882, at the home of Mrs. Simmons. He also testified:
The three papers had been signed by Rexford and his wife before the notary called, and the presumption is that they had read them and understood the contents; and, if reliance is to be placed on the evidence of the notary,-and we perceive no reason to question it,-Fannie H. Rexford freely and voluntarily executed the three papers with a full knowledge of their contents and bearing on her rights. The complainant, Bessie B. Huntington, sole devisee of Fannie Rexford, testified to a certain conversation between Massey, the trustee, and Mrs. Rexford which occurred after the death of her husband; and reliance is placed upon this evidence to show that Fannie Rexford was misled in the execution of the papers. She testified that her sister, Mrs. Rexford, called on Massey for money to furnish a room, and he told her he had no money for that purpose, when Mrs. Rexford said it was not at all as she had understood it when she had signed the paper. She said she understood she was to have whatever she wanted, and that it was not to be a matter of Mr. Massey's deciding what she wanted; that she was simply to go to him when she wanted it; and she repeatedly said it was told her so, and that was the way she understood...
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