Rahfeldt's Estate, In re

• Decision Date: 09 January 1962
• Docket Number: No. 50408,50408
• Citation: 112 N.W.2d 858,253 Iowa 432
• Parties: , 92 A.L.R.2d 1368 In the Matter of the ESTATE of Albert F. RAHFELDT, Deceased, W. H. Brown, Executor. Florence SCHAPER, Helen Miller, Marguerite Mehlow, Albert Rahfeldt, Frances Kadolph, Charlotte Rahfeldt Erickson, and Fred A. Rahfeldt, Appellants, v. W. H. BROWN, Executor of the Estate of Albert F. Rahfeldt, Nellie Rahfeldt, Lydia Rahfeldt, William Rahfeldt, Robert Rahfeldt, Edward Rahfeldt, William Rahfeldt, Fern Stackhouse, Lorine Pille, Gladys Manful, Doris Myking, Lee Rahfeldt, Frank Rahfeldt, Gearde E. Gull, Lavaughn L. Bachman, Jessie W. Erickson, Appellees.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

Page 858

112 N.W.2d 858

253 Iowa 432, 92 A.L.R.2d 1368

In the Matter of the ESTATE of Albert F. RAHFELDT, Deceased, W. H. Brown, Executor.

Florence SCHAPER, Helen Miller, Marguerite Mehlow, Albert Rahfeldt, Frances Kadolph, Charlotte Rahfeldt Erickson, and Fred A. Rahfeldt, Appellants, v. W. H. BROWN, Executor of the Estate of Albert F. Rahfeldt, Nellie Rahfeldt, Lydia Rahfeldt, William Rahfeldt, Robert Rahfeldt, Edward Rahfeldt, William Rahfeldt, Fern Stackhouse, Lorine Pille, Gladys Manful, Doris Myking, Lee Rahfeldt, Frank Rahfeldt, Gearde E. Gull, Lavaughn L. Bachman, Jessie W. Erickson, Appellees.

No. 50408.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Jan. 9, 1962.

Lundy, Butler & Wilson, Eldora, for appellants.

Smedal & Maurer, Ames, for appellee W. H. Brown, Executor of the Estate of Albert F. Rahfeldt.

John R. Hattery, Nevada, for appellees Lydia Rahfeldt Gull, William Rahfeldt, Robert Rahfeldt and Edward Rahfeldt.

THORNTON, Justice.

This is an application in probate. The questions involved are, is the life tenant entitled to unmatured crops growing on the land at the time of the death of the testator, and are the facts such as will sustain the findings of the trial court in holding a declination to act as executor should not be set aside and the applicant appointed?

I. Albert F. Rahfeldt died a resident of Story County August 8, 1960. He left a will, dated January 22, 1945. In paragraph II of the will he devised a life estate to the applicant, Fred A. Rahfeldt, in a quarter section of farm land in part as follows:

'* * * to have and to hold and enjoy the use and income thereof for and during his natural life, and said Fred A. Rahfeldt shall pay all insurance, repairs, and taxes out of the income derived from said real estate, as the same shall become necessary, or due, as the case may be, and after his death, said real estate shall be sold and the net proceeds * * * distributed * * *.'

The devise is one of an absolute life estate. There is nothing contained therein to indicate the testator intended the life tenant to have anything less than full possession and enjoyment of the quarter section commencing with the time of testator's death and ending on the death of the life tenant. Whitehill v. Whitehill, 211 Iowa 475, 476, 233 N.W. 748; Milner v. Brokhausen, 153 Iowa 560, 133 N.W. 1068; and Miller's Executrix v. Miller, 310 Ky. 721, 221 S.W.2d 654, 656.

The will accomplished an equitable conversion, and passed to the remaindermen no right to possession of the real estate but only a right to the proceeds at the expiration of the life estate. In re Estate of Myers, 234 Iowa 502, 12 N.W.2d 211, 150 A.L.R. 254; and Holzhauser v. Iowa State Tax Commission, 245 Iowa 525, 62 N.W.2d 229.

The life tenant, Fred A. Rahfeldt, appellant here, and W. H. Brown were nominated as executors in the will. Mr. Brown qualified and as executor he took possession of 65 acres of growing and unmatured corn on the quarter section, and has refused to deliver the possession of the corn or its proceeds to the life tenant. The life tenant, joined by other interested parties, filed his application, urging the unmatured corn passed to him as a part of the real estate and asking the executor be required to account for the corn. The executor and other beneficiaries under the will filed answers. All admitted the corn was growing and unmatured. The beneficiaries affirmatively alleged the corn was personal property, and though the executor apparently took that position in the trial court, he did not so allege.

The trial court held the growing crop passed with title to the land and shall be the property of the remaindermen and required the executor to account to them for the corn.

An authority so holding has not been called to our attention, nor have we found any. In oral argument our attention was directed to this statement contained in 21 C.J., Estates, § 80, p. 945, 'A life tenant is not entitled to crops planted prior to the beginning of the life estate.' The same statement is found in 31 C.J.S. Estates § 40, p. 47, and in each is cited Glover v. Hearst, 31 S.C.Eq. 329. And in the 1961 pocket parts to 31 C.J.S. under the same footnote Miller's Executrix v. Miller, 310 Ky. 721, 221 S.W.2d 654, is cited. An examination of Glover v. Hearst, supra, discloses the testator died in the month of December, 1851, and the property received by the widow, life tenant, consisted of bacon, corn, oats, lard, fodder, etc. There is no suggestion a growing unmatured crop was involved. The opinion includes this statement, 'To allow the estate of the tenant for life to retain the crop of the year when her estate commenced and that of the year in which she died, would be doubling the advantage intended by the Act of 1789 to life tenants.' No part of the Act of 1789 is set out. The facts before the South Carolina court as well as the statute considered are different from those before us. If section 562.1, Code of Iowa, 1958, I.C.A., providing for apportioning rents for the year in which the life tenant dies, has any bearing here it would be contrary to the result reached in Glover v. Hearst, supra.

In Miller's Executrix v. Miller, supra, the widow was given a life estate in real and personal property. She was appointed executrix. Her husband died July 13, 1947. There was a corn crop growing on the real estate at that time. This crop was harvested and she fed it to livestock. The remaindermen protested the widow's right to feed this 1947 crop without accounting for its value to the estate. KRS 395.350(1) provides:

'(1) All the emblements of the lands of a person dying after March 1 which are severed before the following December 31 shall be assets in the hands of his personal representative.'

In holding KRS 395.350 made growing crops personalty for the purpose of paying debts and charges of administration only and that the remainder must be distributed in accordance with the will of the testator, the court said:

'Mr. Miller's will created an absolute life estate in his widow in all the land on which crops were growing at the time of his death. The will itself manifests an intention on the part of the testator to devise to his widow the use of the land from the time of his death until the happening of one of the contingencies which will terminate the life estate, viz., death or remarriage. Being entitled to the use of the land, she is entitled to the profits of the land from and after the death of the testator. To decide otherwise would be to deprive the life tenant of the absolute use of the real estate for the first year of her tenancy, and would postpone her enjoyment of the devise to a time not contemplated by the testator.'

A growing corn crop is a part of the real estate and passes with the land as between vendor and purchaser, mortgagor and mortgagee, and by a will to a devisee. Clark v. Strohbeen, 190 Iowa 989, 994, 181 N.W. 430, 13 A.L.R. 1419; Newburn v. Lucas, 126 Iowa 85, 88, 101 N.W. 730; Hecht v. Dittman, 56 Iowa 679, 7 N.W. 495, 10 N.W. 241; and Downard v. Groff, 40 Iowa 597.

A tenant for life is the holder of a possessory estate in land, 1 Simes & Smith, Future Interests, 2nd Ed., § 62, p. 47, and during the continuance of the estate has the privilege of taking and receiving all issues, profits, and income from the land. Whitehill v. Whitehill, 211 Iowa 475, 476, 233 N.W. 748; Milner v. Brokhausen, 153 Iowa 560, 133 N.W. 1068; Miller's executrix v. Miller, 310 Ky. 721, 221 S.W.2d 654; Croasdale v. Butell, 177 Kan. 487, 280 P.2d 593, 49 A.L.R.2d 1112; Perigo v. Perigo, 158 Neb. 733, 64 N.W.2d 789; 31 C.J.S. Estates § 41, p. 47; and Annotations, 13 Am.St.Rep. 633.

The doctrine of emblements urged by appellees is not applicable to a transfer from a fee simple title holder to a...