Stahl v. Stahl
| Decision Date | 26 July 1927 |
| Docket Number | No. 25026.,25026. |
| Parties | STAHL v. STAHL. |
| Court | Nebraska Supreme Court |
STAHL
v.
STAHL.
No. 25026.
Supreme Court of Nebraska.
July 26, 1927.
“The burden is upon the husband, or his representatives, to show that an antenuptial contract apparently unjust to the wife was fairly procured.” In re Estate of Enyart, 100 Neb. 337, 160 N. W. 120.
“In view of the close and confidential relation existing between affianced persons, it is the duty of the prospective husband to make a full and fair disclosure of all material facts relating to the amount, character and value of his property, so that the prospective wife may have sufficient knowledge upon which she may exercise her judgment whether she will enter into such a contract.” In re Estate of Enyart, 100 Neb. 337, 160 N. W. 120.
“Where the provision made for the intended wife by an antenuptial contract is grossly disproportionate to the interest in the prospective husband's estate which the intended wife would acquire by operation of law in case a marriage took place, the burden rests upon those claiming the validity of the contract to show that a full and fair disclosure was made to her before she signed it of the extent and value of the property, or that she was aware to all intents and purposes of the nature, character and value of the estate which she was relinquishing if the marriage took place.” In re Estate of Enyart, 100 Neb. 337, 160 N. W. 120.
[215 N.W. 132]
The mere fact that an intended wife, who signs an antenuptial contract, knows in a general way that the husband is reputed to be wealthy and to own a farm of 560 acres, and also other personal property, but without any information or knowledge of the value of the real estate or of the amount and value of the personal property, is not sufficient to meet the requirements of the equitable rule of fair disclosure, or charge the wife with knowledge of the nature and value of his property so as to render an unfair contract binding, especially when such intended wife had been, prior to the making of such contract, continuously a resident of a distant city and state, wholly without knowledge of such farm real estate and such personal property values, and a total stranger to the community and state wherein such property was situated.
Under the facts in this case, held, that the antenuptial contract in question is invalid for the reasons set forth in the opinion.
Appeal from District Court, Fillmore County; Proudfit, Judge.
Action for partition by Theresa Stahl, widow and statutory heir of Christian Stahl, deceased, revived in the name and interest of Dora Rolfes, special administratrix, and her successor, as administrator of the estate of Theresa Stahl, deceased against Michael Stahl and others. From the judgment, plaintiff appeals. Reversed and remanded, with directions.
W. L. Kirkpatrick, of York, for appellant.
Sloans, Keenan & Corbitt, of Geneva, for appellees.
Heard before GOSS, C. J., and ROSE, DAY, GOOD, THOMPSON, and EBERLY, JJ.
EBERLY, J.
This is an action in partition. It is brought by plaintiff as widow and statutory heir of Christian Stahl, deceased, against the defendants named, who are the children of deceased by his first wife. Judgment in district court for defendants, denying partition, and adjudging plaintiff by terms of antenuptial contract with deceased, dated and entered into May 1, 1902, entitled to receive the sum of $2,000, and no more, and to be barred by virtue of the agreement from any inheritance in or further claim against the estate of the deceased. Plaintiff appeals.
Partition in this state is deemed a proceeding in equity, and the case is here therefore for trial de novo. Oliver v. Lansing, 50 Neb. 828, 70 N. W. 369;Arthur v. Arthur (Neb.) 215 N. W. 117.
A careful consideration of the pleadings and the evidence convinces us that this case is ruled by the doctrine announced by this court in Re Estate of Enyart, 100 Neb. 337, 160 N. W. 120. It is our view that the controlling contract in this case, when considered in connection with all the circumstances of its execution, furnishes sufficient data wherewith to test its validity.
Most of the following facts appear as undisputed in the record, at least so far as defendants are concerned: That Christian Stahl was 54 and plaintiff 44 on the day of their marriage, which was the date of signing the contract in suit; that Christian Stahl, then a widower, was the father of nine children; that plaintiff, a widow, was the mother of four.
That plaintiff had emigrated to this country from Germany when 24 years of age; that she thereafter made her home in “Greater New York” until she came west to marry the deceased in 1902; that two years after her arrival in this country she became the wife of one Keller, and thereafter continued to live in Greater New York; that her then husband was an employee of a brewery, and later a saloon keeper; the last statement may fairly be said to be conceded by appellees' brief. So far as shown by the record, the only real estate in which the Keller family had any interest were some city lots situated in that part of Greater New York known as Brooklyn. Later Keller died. The plaintiff then supported herself and children by conducting a boarding house. Up to the time of her trip to Omaha in 1902, which resulted in her marriage, there is no evidence of her ever having visited the rural districts of New York state, or indeed of her ever leaving the precincts of the city of her home.
The evidence also discloses that Christian Stahl came to Nebraska from Germany in an early day. He was...
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