Offe v. State Bd. of Soc. Welfare, 46968.

• Decision Date: 14 January 1947
• Docket Number: No. 46968.,46968.
• Parties: OFFE et al. v. STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WELFARE.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

238 Iowa 16

25 N.W.2d 731

OFFE et al.

v.STATE BOARD OF SOCIAL WELFARE.

No. 46968.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Jan. 14, 1947.

Appeal from District Court, Clinton County; George Claussen, Judge.

Suit in equity to set aside and cancel a claimed lien upon real estate belonging to plaintiffs, arising out of old age assistance furnished; and to quiet title therein. The trial court sustained the petition. The defendant appeals.

Affirmed.

John M. Rankin, Atty. Gen., and T. S. Herrick, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellant.

Walter W. Eggers, of Clinton, for appellees.

MANTZ, Justice.

The plaintiffs petitioned the district court to quiet title in and to certain described real estate belonging to plaintiffs and to set aside and cancel a claimed lien filed by the State Board of Social Welfare on account of certain old age assistance furnished Henry C. Offe, the present husband of Jessie McAllister Offe, prior to the marriage of Henry C. Offe and Jessie McAllister Offe. Defendant denied the claims of plaintiffs, admitted the payment of old age assistance to Henry C. Offe, the filing of the statutory lien and claimed its priority to the claims of plaintiffs. The trial court cancelled said claimed lien and quieted title in and to the plaintiffs. The state board of social welfare has appealed.

I. All the facts are stipulated, no matters are in dispute. Appellant furnished old age assistance in the sum of $1,127.30 to Henry C. Offe between the dates of June 1, 1936, and August 1, 1942, and later, pursuant to statute, properly filed a claim for such sum in the office of the county recorder of Clinton County, Iowa.

Plaintiff, Jessie McAllister Offe, was married to Henry C. Offe on November 5, 1945, and was so related when this action was started. The law dealing with the matter of old age assistance is found in Chapter 249, Code of 1946. Section 249.20 of said chapter, so far as material is as follows:

‘In any event, the assistance furnished under this chapter shall be and constitute a lien on any real estate owned either by the husband or wife for assistance and funeral benefits furnished to either of such persons. Whenever an order is made for such assistance to any person, a copy of such order shall be indexed and recorded in the manner provided for the indexing of real-estate mortgages in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the recipient lives and in which the real estate belonging to the recipient or the spouse of such recipient is...