Singleton v. St. Louis Union Trust Co.

• Decision Date: 13 December 1945
• Docket Number: No. 2657.,2657.
• Citation: 191 S.W.2d 143
• Parties: SINGLETON v. ST. LOUIS UNION TRUST CO. et al.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

191 S.W.2d 143

SINGLETON v. ST. LOUIS UNION TRUST CO. et al.

No. 2657.

Court of Civil Appeals of Texas. Tenth District, Waco.

December 13, 1945.

Rehearing Denied January 3, 1946.

Appeal from District Court, Ellis County; A. R. Stout, Judge.

Suit by the St. Louis Union Trust Company and another as coexecutors of the estate of Marvin E. Singleton, Sr., and as ancillary administrators of his estate, against Mary Perry Singleton and others for construction of the will of the deceased and a declaration of rights. From the judgment, Mary Perry Singleton appeals.

Affirmed.

Carrington, Gowan, Habberton, Johnson & Walker, of Dallas, for appellant.

Hancock & Hancock, J. C. Lumpkins, and R. F. Chapman, all of Waxahachie, for appellees.

LESTER, Chief Justice.

This suit was brought by the St. Louis Union Trust Company and Marvin E. Singleton, Jr., as coexecutors of the estate of Marvin E. Singleton, Sr. (referred to herein by his familiar title of "Col. Singleton") and also as ancillary administrators of his estate. The suit named his widow and children as defendants. They ask for a construction of his will and a declaration of the rights of the various parties to his unsold Texas real estate and to the proceeds of the sale of his Texas real estate and personal property in the light of his widow's election to take under the law and not under his will.

Col. Singleton resided in the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, where he had his domicile. His will was probated in the State of Missouri and later filed for probate in Ellis County, Texas, where ancillary administration was taken out. The provisions of his will material to this case are as follows:

"I, Marvin E. Singleton, of the City of St. Louis, State of Missouri, do hereby make, publish and declare the following to be my last will and testament, hereby revoking and cancelling all former wills and codicils by me at any time made.

"First: I direct my Executors hereinafter named to pay all of my just debts and funeral expenses as soon as practicable after my death, without an allowance or order of the Probate Court.

"Second: I hereby give and bequeath all of my household furniture, furnishings, jewelry, clothing and other personal effects, including my automobiles, unto my wife, Mary Perry Singleton, as her absolute property.

* * * * *

"Fourth: All of the rest, residue and remainder of my estate of whatever it may consist, and wherever situate, belonging to me at the date of my death, I hereby give, devise and bequeath unto my son, Marvin E. Singleton, Jr., and the St. Louis Union Trust Company, a Missouri corporation, in trust, nevertheless, for the uses and purposes hereinafter mentioned:

* * * * *

"(a) One-tenth (1/10) of the residue of the trust estate shall be set aside and retained in trust by my said Trustees as a separate and distinct trust estate, for the use and benefit of my wife, Mary Perry Singleton, and the entire net income therefrom shall be paid over and distributed unto her in monthly or other convenient installments for and during her natural life, and upon her death this trust shall cease and determine as to her, and the corpus of the trust estate so held and retained in trust for her use and benefit under the provisions of paragraph (a) hereof, shall be and become a part of the corpus of the trust estates hereinafter created for the equal use and benefit of my children, under the provisions of paragraph (b) hereof.

"(b) The remaining nine-tenths (9/10) of the residue of the trust estate shall be held and retained in trust by my said Trustees, as nine (9) separate and distinct trust estates, for the equal use and benefit of my children: Edward C. Singleton, John H. Singleton, Susie S. Singleton Porter, Mrs. Elizabeth R. Singleton, Marvin F. Singleton, Jr., Joe R. Singleton, June Singleton, Mary E. Singleton, and Perry Marvin Singleton, and until my said children respectively reach the age of twenty-five (25) years all or so much of the income as may be necessary arising from their respective equal trust estates herein created shall be used and applied by the said Trustees for their education, maintenance and support; provided, however, if it shall not be necessary in the opinion of my said Trustees to use and apply all or any part of such net income for the education, maintenance and support of my said children during such time, then such income not used for the purposes stated, shall be accumulated and invested, and paid over unto my said children respectively, as and when they become twenty-five (25) years of age.

* * * * *

"Tenth: I hereby nominate, constitute and appoint my son, Marvin E. Singleton, Jr., and the St. Louis Union Trust Company, a Missouri corporation, Executors of this my last will and testament, and direct that no bond shall be required of my said son as such Co-Executor; and I hereby certify that at or before the execution of the same, I had advice and counsel in relation thereto from someone not under salary from the St. Louis Union Trust Company.

"In Witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 15th day of March, 1932.

                  "(Signed)
                      "Marvin E. Singleton * * *."
                

Col. Singleton left a large estate situated in Missouri, Texas, Arkansas and Tennessee. His Texas property was his separate property. He left his widow and nine children surviving, seven of said children being by a former marriage and two by his surviving widow.

At the time of the death of Col. Singleton there was in full force and effect in the State of Missouri the following Statutes, being Sec. 328 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri of 1939, Mo.R.S.A., as follows: "§ 328. Child's part, when taken in lieu of dower. When the husband shall die, leaving a child or children or other descendants, the widow, if she has a child or children by such husband living, may, in lieu of dower of the one-third part of all lands whereof her husband died or shall die seized of an estate of inheritance, to hold and enjoy during her natural life, elect to be endowed absolutely in a share of such lands equal to the share of a child of such deceased husband. The provisions of this section shall be subject to the payment of her husband's debts."

And Section 333, as follows: "Renunciation of will. In such case the wife shall not be endowed in any of the real estate whereof her husband died seized or in which he had an interest at the time of his death unless she shall, by writing duly executed and acknowledged as in cases of deeds for land, filed in the office of the court in which the will is probated and recorded within twelve months after the [proving] of the will, not accept the provisions made for her by said will."

The surviving widow, Mrs. Mary Singleton, in compliance with said statutes of the State of Missouri, elected not to take under the will and filed her declaration to that effect in the probate proceedings in Missouri in proper time, and in proper time filed her declaration of record in the County Clerk's office of Ellis County, Texas. In addition to the real estate owned by Col. Singleton he also owned a large amount of personal property situated in Texas. Subsequent to taking out of such ancillary administration in Ellis County, the property known as the Singleton Farms in Ellis County was sold and converted into cash by his ancillary administrators under orders of the probate court of Ellis county, which brought the sum of $60,911.20, and the personal property in the State of Texas was sold under order of the probate court for the sum of $10,000, and the proceeds of both sales are held by the St. Louis Union Trust Company and Marvin E. Singleton, Jr., as ancillary administrators of said estate. The real estate situated in Navarro County had not been sold.

The cause was tried before the court without the intervention of a jury upon an agreed statement of facts. The court decreed that Mrs. Mary Perry Singleton was entitled to a child's part in the proceeds of the sale of the personal property, as provided by the Missouri law, but denied her any right to the proceeds of the sale of the Texas real estate and denied her any right in the unsold portion of the Texas real estate, and decreed that by reason of her renunciation and election under the statutes of Missouri, the devise made to her in trust should cease and determine as to her and that the corpus of such trust estate for her use and benefit under such will should be and become a part of the corpus of the other trusts created and devised in said will.

In this suit the children contend that by her renunciation she lost all right to any part of the Texas real estate, or the proceeds thereof, and say that the part she renounced went into the trust for their use and benefit alone.

Mrs. Singleton, on the other hand, contends that her election to take under the law and against the will was a right given her by the Missouri law; that she exercised that right; that such election had the effect of causing her husband to die intestate so far as her legal rights are concerned, and that the election was effective in Texas as well as in Missouri; that under the Texas law of descent and distribution she was entitled to a life estate in one-third of the Texas real estate and that the trial court should have so declared.

Col. Singleton's will placed the bulk of his property in trust. Paragraph 4 (a) of the will gave the widow the income for life in one-tenth of the residue of his trust estate. Under the Missouri law she had a dower right of one-third interest for life in the Missouri land or the right under the Missouri statute to elect to be endowed absolutely in a share of such lands equal to the share of a child of such deceased husband. Since the will ignored her dower right under the Missouri law, and in view of the Missouri statute giving his widow the right of election, she had a right, under such law, to elect not to take under the will, which she availed herself of, and the...