Sprague's Estate, In re
| Decision Date | 10 March 1953 |
| Docket Number | No. 48224,48224 |
| Citation | 57 N.W.2d 212,244 Iowa 540 |
| Parties | In re SPRAGUE'S ESTATE et al. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Reid L. Hunt, of Tipton, for appellants.
Russell R. Newell, of Columbus Junction, for appellee.
This appeal has developed by reason of an application made by the executor of the will of Nancy M. Sprague, deceased, to have construed certain provisions of her last will and testament and subsequent codicils. The trial court entered an order favorable to the contentions of Margaret Huston, a sister of the decedent, and adverse to the contentions of Ethel Sprague Colton, Alice Sprague Overholser and Evelyn Sprague Hall, stepdaughters of Nancy M. Sprague. They have appealed.
James A. Sprague, husband of Nancy M. Sprague, predeceased her. Mrs. Sprague died January 1, 1951 and her will and codicils were thereafter admitted to probate. Inasmuch as they were construed by the trial court and its order relative to them is before us for review, it is necessary that we set forth the essential portions of them.
On June 19, 1936 Nancy M. Sprague executed her last will and testament. In item one provision was made for the payment of all debts and claims of her estate. In item two there was devised and bequeathed to James A. Sprague a life estate in all the property of Nancy M. Sprague with the right to use the principal thereof as well as the income. Item three is as follows:
'I give, devise and bequeath to my sister, Margaret Huston, of Columbus Junction, Iowa, any property of my estate which may remain at the death of my said husband, to have and to hold the same to her and her heirs absolutely.
'I nominate my husband, James A. Sprague, as executor of my estate and of my Last Will and Testament, and exonerate him from giving bond as such executor.'
A codicil to the will of Nancy M. Sprague executed on July 15, 1943 is in part as follows:
On March 7, 1944 Nancy M. Sprague executed a second codicil to her last will and testament wherein she revoked the designation of her husband, James A Sprague, as executor of her will because of his advanced age and appointed W. C. Hall as executor in his place.
The real property referred to in item one of the codicil dated July 15, 1943 as shown by that instrument was held at the time of the execution of this codicil in joint tenancy with James A. Sprague, the husband of the decedent. It is apparent from the record that on or about June 4, 1945 the said Nancy M. Sprague and her husband entered into a contract for the sale and conveyance of this property to Kyle and Ina V. Kilpatrick. This contract provided for installment payments. It is shown that at the time of the death of James A. Sprague there was a balance due of $6168.67 and as shown by the findings of fact and conclusions of law of the trial court, the undivided one-half interest of Nancy M. Sprague in this contract at the time of her death was estimated by her executor to be of the value of $3568.45.
The record further discloses that during the lifetime of James A. Sprague and Nancy M. Sprague they owned as joint tenants with the right of survivorship 35 shares of preferred stock of Miller and Hart, Inc. Following the death of James A. Sprague, the guardian of Nancy M. Sprague had a new certificate of stock reissued to him in his name as guardian of Nancy M. Sprague. During the lifetime of James A. Sprague and Nancy M. Sprague they also owned as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, a five per cent--$800 mortgage income bond issued by the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railway Company of Waterloo, Iowa. At the time of the death of James A. Sprague there was in his possession the following: six United States bonds registered in the name of James A. Sprague or Nancy M. Sprague, the value of which is not shown.
In its findings of fact and conclusions of law the trial court has very clearly commented on the material features of the will and the codicils here involved. We shall set forth a portion of its findings of fact and conclusions of law and adopt them as a part of this opinion.
'It is hornbook law that the cardinal rule of construction is to determine the intention of the testator. Since the construction of a will has for its primary purpose the ascertainment of the intention of the testator, the testator's intention is hence the polar star in the interpretation of the instrument. This intent must be sought from the language of the will itself, read in the light of the surrounding circumstances.
'By Item I of the Codicil, dated July 15, 1943, the testatrix left to her stepdaughters all property, real and personal, of which she died possessed and 'which I may have received, either by descent or devise or as surviving spouse from my husband, James A. Sprague.' In this Codicil, she also provided, 'I hold in joint tenancy with the said James A. Sprague, the property known as 1322 A Avenue Northeast * * * and I give, devise and bequeath this real estate, in case I survive the said James A. Sprague and become vested with the full title as surviving joint tenant * * * to Ethel Sprague Colton, Alice Sprague Overholser and Evelyn Sprague Hall * * *. The thirty-five shares of preferred stock of Miller and Hart, Inc., * * * the mortgage bond, issued by the Waterloo, Cedar Falls and Northern Railway, * * * and the United States Government Bonds, * * * were not received by Nancy M. Sprague, either by descent, devise or as the surviving spouse of her husband, James A. Sprague. She acquired ownership of the stock certificate and the railway bond as the result of being a surviving joint tenant, and she acquired ownership of the Government Bonds because of a contract with the United States Government. That she distinguishes, in her own mind, between property which she would receive by descent, devise or as...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Baker's Estate, In re
...entered into in the sale of the real estate? This court has passed on the first question raised on this appeal. In re Estate of Sprague, 244 Iowa 540, 57 N.W.2d 212. Inasmuch as counsel for the widow has questioned the sufficiency of our previous consideration of the question herein raised ......
-
Panushka v. Panushka
...conversion and a resultant ownership in the proceeds of the sale by the vendors as tenants in common. See, also, In re Sprague's Estate, 1953, 244 Iowa 540, 57 N.W.2d 212, and cases cited in Buford v. Dahlke, supra, 62 N.W.2d at page As a general rule, when an estate by the entireties is so......
-
Stonebrook's Estate, In re
...from the Arkansas court are found in In re Estate of Keeler, 225 Iowa 1349, 1357, 282 N.W. 362, 366, and In re Estate of Sprague, 244 Iowa 540, 546, 547, 57 N.W.2d 212, 216, 217. They indicate that a failure to change a bequest after a transfer of the property bequeathed negatives an intent......
-
Awtry's Estate v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue
...N.W.2d 883; In re Murray's Estate, 236 Iowa 807, 20 N.W.2d 49; In re Damon's Guardianship, 238 Iowa 570, 28 N.W.2d 48; In re Sprague's Estate, 244 Iowa 540, 57 N.W. 2d 212; Hill v. Havens, supra. Hill v. Havens, supra, quotes paragraph (c) of § 315.45, Treasury Regulations Governing United ......
-
Joint Tenancies in Iowa Today
...260, 264 (Iowa 1961) (holding no severance of joint tenancy in stock certificates by co-tenant’s will). 117. See In re Sprague’s Estate, 57 N.W.2d 212, 215–16 (Iowa 1953). 118 . Baker v. Cobb ( In re Baker’s Estate), 78 N.W.2d 863, 867 (Iowa 1956). 119. See Comment, Joint Tenancies—Severanc......