Spaan v. Anderson

Decision Date18 December 1901
Citation115 Iowa 121,88 N.W. 200
PartiesSPAAN ET AL. v. ANDERSON ET AL.
CourtIowa Supreme Court

OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeal from district court, Lee county; Henry Bank, Jr., Judge.

Action to quiet title by plaintiffs, who claim to be owners of two certain lots of real property in the city of Keokuk, as against defendants, who claim judgment liens on an interest therein alleged by them to belong to one Joseph C. Spaan. Decree for plaintiffs, and defendants appeal. Affirmed.B. A. Dolan and James H. Anderson, for appellants.

W. J. Roberts, for appellees.

McCLAIN, J.

The lots in controversy belonged during his lifetime to one John Spaan, the father of plaintiffs and of Joseph C. Spaan, who died seised thereof in 1893, having executed a will, afterwards duly probated, containing the following clauses: “Second. I give, devise, and bequeath to my wife, Nellie Spaan, all my property, both real and personal, during her natural life; and I hereby authorize and empower the said Nellie Spaan to sell and convey any of said property as she may think best. Third. After the death of my said wife, I give, devise, and bequeath all the property remaining at her death to my four sons, Henry N. Spaan, Joseph C. Spaan, Herman Spaan, and Cornelius J. Spaan, to be divided equally between them, share and share alike.” Nellie Spaan, the widow of testator, died intestate in 1898, leaving the two lots in controversy undisposed of; and defendants, as judgment creditors of Joseph C. Spaan, whose judgments against him became liens upon real property in the county in which the lots are located in 1894, claim that their lien has attached to a one-fourth interest therein belonging to their debtor, said Joseph C. Spaan. Plaintiffs claim, however, that their said brother Joseph during the lifetime of his mother, Nellie Spaan, and prior to the date when defendants' judgments became liens upon real property, received from her $2,500, in various sums, with the agreement that such amount should be regarded as an advancement to him out of the estate in which he would have a right to participate on her death; that this amount exceeds one-fourth of all his father's property remaining undisposed of at his mother's death; and that subsequently to her death he executed to these plaintiffs, his brothers, a quitclaim deed reciting the receipt by him of such amount by way of advancement, and conveying to them all his interest in the lots in controversy.

Plaintiffs contend--First, that the will of John Spaan should be construed as vesting in Nellie Spaan, his widow, a fee simple title to all testator's property, including the lots in controversy, and that the money advanced to Joseph Spaan is to be deducted from his interest in her estate, leaving no interest in him subject to defendants' judgments; and, further, that even if the will gave to the widow only a life estate, so that Joseph C. Spaan's interest was that of an heir of his father in a contingent remainder, nevertheless the advancement to him out of the property in which he and his brothers had a contingent interest before defendants' judgment liens attached to the interest of said Joseph is to be taken into account in determining the amount of his interest, which would result in leaving nothing in him to which defendants' judgments could attach.

It is well settled that the general lien of a judgment creditor upon the lands of his debtor is subject to all equities existing against his interest in favor of third persons at the time when the judgments become liens. Rice v. Kelso, 57 Iowa, 115, 7 N. W. 3, 10 N. W. 335. A judgment is a lien only on the interest of the judgment debtor. Churchill v. Morse, 23 Iowa, 229, 92 Am. Dec. 422; Brebner v. Johnson, 84 Iowa, 23, 50 N. W. 35. The lien of the judgment creditor does not take priority over advancements, and, if at the time his share in the estate would otherwise vest in him he has already received such share by way of advancement, the lien of the judgment does not attach. Liginger v. Field, 78 Wis. 367, 47 N. W. 613;Steele v. Frierson, 85 Tenn. 430, 3 S. W. 649. Therefore, if Joseph's interest is as heir of Nellie Spaan, the lien is subject to advancements made by her to him; and, furthernore, even if Joseph took as heir of his father, John Spaan, his interest in such lots on which defendants can claim a lien will be subject to any equitable claim which may arise in the settlement and distribution of his father's estate. We think there is no doubt that under the will of John Spaan his widow took a life estate only, with the additional general power of disposal of the entire estate, and that his...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT