Schutterle v. Schutterle, 11890

Citation260 N.W.2d 341
Decision Date17 November 1977
Docket NumberNo. 11890,11890
PartiesRebecca SCHUTTERLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. Edna SCHUTTERLE, Individually and as the Administratrix of the Estate of Ralph Schutterle, Deceased, Defendant and Appellant.
CourtSupreme Court of South Dakota

Orville W. Robbins of Robbins & Von Wald, Selby, for plaintiff and respondent.

Robert C. Riter and Robert C. Riter, Jr. of Riter, Mayer, Hofer & Riter, Pierre, for defendant and appellant.

WOLLMAN, Justice.

This is an appeal from a judgment that decreed the specific performance of an antenuptial agreement and quieted title to certain real estate located in Potter County, South Dakota. We affirm.

Ralph and Marie Schutterle farmed 1280 acres of land northwest of Gettysburg, South Dakota. One child, Larry, was born of their marriage. In November of 1959, Ralph underwent surgery that impaired his ability to operate his farm. Larry, an engineering graduate of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, was working at the time as an engineer in the bridge division of the South Dakota State Highway Department in Pierre. Late in 1959, Ralph and Marie came to the home of Larry and his wife, Rosella, in Ft. Pierre, South Dakota. Ralph told Larry and Rosella that if they would come back and operate the farm it would be his intention to leave the farm to them. Larry and Rosella decided to accept Ralph's offer, and in the spring of 1960 they moved to the farm, which Larry operated until his death at the age of 31 in July of 1965. Larry left one child, Rebecca (hereinafter referred to as Rebecca or respondent), who is the plaintiff in this action.

Marie Schutterle died in September of 1962. Following her death, Ralph spent some time during the winter months of the following years visiting relatives in Iowa. On March 14, 1964, he returned to the Gettysburg farm from his yearly visit to Iowa and told Larry and Rosella that he intended to marry a woman whom he had met during his stay there. He stated that he did not expect that his marriage would make any difference with respect to the agreement that he had with Larry and Rosella concerning the farm, that as long as they remained on the farm it would be theirs upon his death, and that he and his wife-to-be would enter into an agreement whereby their respective property would remain theirs and would ultimately go to their respective children. Several days later Ralph mentioned to Larry and Rosella that prior to his forthcoming marriage he would have a contract drawn up that would carry out his intentions regarding his property.

Edna Engelsen (hereinafter referred to as Edna or appellant), grew up as an orphan in Iowa. She completed the eighth grade of school, and at age 17 she married a man some ten years her senior. The marriage ended in divorce a year later and Edna thereafter supported herself by working as a waitress and as a sales clerk. In 1941 she married Delbert Miller. A year later she and her husband purchased an 80-acre dairy farm near Norway, Iowa. Edna assisted her husband in managing and operating the farm. Two children, both of whom were in their thirties at the time this action was tried in April of 1975, were born to the marriage. Delbert Miller died in July of 1962. Edna succeeded to the ownership of the farm through her survivorship rights as a joint tenant and continued to operate the farm until January of 1963, when she sold the livestock and machinery at auction. She then rented out the land through her own efforts and thereafter collected the rent and paid the taxes.

Edna and Ralph met in January of 1963 and thereafter began seeing each other regularly. Ralph soon proposed marriage and in October of 1963 the two decided to marry. At that time Edna owned the 80-acre farm, from which she was receiving some $2,100 per year in rental income, an automobile and other personal property. The probate inventory that was filed with respect to Delbert Miller's estate in August of 1962 listed personal property of a value of approximately $11,000, together with the land, for a total estimated net estate value of some $36,000.

During the time that they were seeing each other, Edna learned that Ralph owned a grain and livestock farm in South Dakota that was being operated by his son, who was living on the farm with his wife and daughter. Edna knew that Ralph went back to South Dakota and helped his son during the crop season. Ralph told her that he "wasn't a poor man and wasn't a rich man." Belmont Schutterle, one of Ralph's Iowa cousins, testified that he had had a conversation with Edna sometime in 1963 during which Edna referred to a story that was going around the community that she was running after Ralph for his money and then went on to say, in Belmont's words,

" . . . (S)he said I don't know if Ralph will ever marry me or not, but she said if he does before he ever marries me what is Ralph's is Ralph's and what is mine is mine and she said that's going to be put in black and white . . . "

Edna herself testified that she did not need to get married for support, that she was interested in Ralph and not in what he had, and that she would have married him had he been a poor man.

After deciding to marry, Ralph and Edna agreed that they would live on Edna's Iowa farm. The marriage itself was to take place in South Dakota on March 18, 1964. As we have indicated above, Ralph returned to the Gettysburg farm on March 14, 1964. Edna and her daughter arrived at Gettysburg on March 17, 1964. Sometime during the early afternoon of March 18, 1964, Ralph and Edna went to the office of attorney Coe Frankhauser in Gettysburg. Mr. Frankhauser had prepared Ralph's income tax returns over the years and had handled the termination of life estate proceedings after Marie Schutterle's death.

After introducing Edna as his fiancee, Ralph explained that they wanted "some kind of paper so that what is mine is mine and what is Edna's is Edna's and so our kids will get it." Mr. Frankhauser prepared to make a list of the assets owned by each and began asking about personal property items, whereupon Ralph stated that they would take care of the personal property themselves and just wanted the land included in the agreement. Neither Ralph nor Edna was able to give a legal description of the real property owned by each. Mr. Frankhauser learned that Edna owned an 80-acre farm in Iowa. Ralph described his real estate as "all the land I have got out here." The couple indicated that the reason they were trying to keep the land separate was so that it would go to their respective children. After getting the names and addresses of Edna's children, Mr. Frankhauser informed the couple that he would have the agreement ready for their signatures later that afternoon, they having indicated that they wanted it promptly.

Later that afternoon Ralph and Edna returned to the office. Mr. Frankhauser gave them two copies of the agreement and asked them to read it. After they had examined the agreement for a time, Ralph and Edna indicated in response to Mr. Frankhauser's inquiry that the written document represented what they had in mind and that they had no questions regarding the agreement.

They then signed and acknowledged the agreement before Mr. Frankhauser. 1 He handed the original and one copy of the agreement to the couple. After leaving Mr. Frankhauser's office, Ralph and Edna returned to Ralph's home and were married later that evening. Ralph was then 59 years of age and Edna 47 or 48. The original copy of the agreement was placed in Ralph's safe deposit box in a Gettysburg bank, where it remained until his death. 2

Ralph and Edna returned to Iowa following the wedding, where they lived on Edna's farm until Larry Schutterle's death the following year. They then returned to South Dakota. Ralph operated the farm for several years and then rented it out. The couple filed joint tax returns and Edna saw copies of property tax assessment records and tax receipts. The couple maintained a joint checking account. Income realized from the South Dakota farm was used to purchase jointly owned savings certificates. Edna used some of the income she realized from her Iowa farm to put her daughter through college and deposited the remainder in her solely held bank account in a Gettysburg bank. Edna learned during the marriage that Ralph owned, in her words, "a lot of land"; she also saw his cattle and the farm machinery. She knew that he had two savings accounts in a Pierre bank and was aware of how much cash he carried in the checking account in the Gettysburg bank. She was aware that the antenuptial agreement was in Ralph's safe deposit box, and she acknowledged she could have looked at it had she wanted to.

In April of 1971, Ralph and Edna went to the office of attorney Harold W. Swift at Marengo, Iowa, for the purpose of obtaining a contract for the sale of Edna's Iowa farm. According to Mr. Swift's testimony, Edna came into his private office alone while Ralph remained in the reception room. Edna explained the terms of the contract and stated that Ralph had nothing to do with the contract and that there was a reason for this. After Mr. Swift apparently expressed some question regarding Ralph's interest in the land, Ralph came into the office and explained that there was an agreement between the two which provided that he had no interest in Edna's real estate and she had none in his. Edna agreed that that was correct. Mr. Swift ultimately prepared a real estate contract for the sale of the Iowa property for a total price of $64,000. The agreement provided in part that:

"IT IS AGREED this ______ day of April, 1971, by and between Edna A. Schutterle (formerly the wife of Delbert H. Miller, deceased); her present husband, Ralph Schutterle does not join in this contract because he has no interest in the property of his wife by virtue of a prenuptial agreement

Ralph Schutterle, husband of Edna A. Schutterle, joins in this contract for the...

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