Willis v. Alvey
| Decision Date | 24 June 1902 |
| Citation | 69 S.W. 1035 |
| Parties | WILLIS v. ALVEY et al.<SMALL><SUP>1</SUP></SMALL> |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Appeal from district court, Galveston county; Wm. H. Stewart, Judge.
Application under Rev. St. §§ 1991-1994, by R. M. Willis against J. P. Alvey and another, as executors, to set aside and annul certain portions of the will of Narcissa Willis, deceased. From a judgment upholding the will, applicant appeals. Affirmed.
Crawford & Crawford, for appellant. Jno. C. Walker and F. D. Minor, for appellees.
On September 6, 1899, Mrs. Narcissa Willis died possessed of a large estate, and left a will disposing of her entire property. The devisees named were her two daughters and her grandchildren, a specific bequest of $20,000 being also made to her son Short A. Willis, and one of $5,000 to Miss Kate E. Saunders. A devise of $50,000 to her daughter Mrs. B. O. Walthew was given in trust to the Texas Guaranty & Trust Company, to be held in trust by it, the income to be paid to Mrs. Walthew during her life, remainder to her children. A bequest of $25,000 was made to the guaranty and trust company for the benefit of Mrs. Kate E. Grigsby, a daughter of the testatrix, upon the same terms and conditions. The entire residue of the estate after the payment of legacies and expenses was bequeathed to the trust company to be held by it in trust for the grandchildren in equal portions, to be handled and invested by the trust company, and to be paid to the beneficiaries when they arrived at the age of 21 years, or at other times stated in the will. The trust company was authorized to appropriate to its own use reasonable compensation for executing the trust. J. P. Alvey and R. V. Davidson were named as independent executors, and the sum of $15,000 was bequeathed to them in equal portions in lieu of all other compensation for their services. The estate consisted of both realty and personal property, and they were empowered and directed to convert all or any part of the estate into money, if necessary for the purpose of paying debts and legacies; and when the debts and legacies were paid, and their duties ended, they were directed to turn over the residue of the estate to the guaranty and trust company, according to the terms of the will. The testatrix expressed the desire that the estate should be administered independent of the probate court as far as the law would permit. The will was duly probated in the probate court of Galveston county, and by the 18th of August, 1900, the executors had wound up the estate, paid the debts and legacies, and were ready to turn over the remainder of the estate to the trust company, as directed by the will. It was not found necessary to sell the real estate in order to discharge the debts and legacies, and realty amounting to a large proportion of the residuary estate remained on hand to be turned over to the trustees. At the date of the death of Mrs. Willis her heirs at law were her children, Short A. Willis, R. M. Willis, Mrs. K. E. Grigsby, Bettie O. Walthew, and two grandchildren, viz., Lee Willis and Laura Willis. The evidence as to the manner of the incorporation of the Texas Guaranty & Trust Company, the nature and extent of its corporate powers, and its permit to do business in this state is undisputed, and need not be set out here. The record is referred to for the facts in that connection, as well as for the full text of the parts of the will assailed. On the 18th day of August, 1900, R. M. Willis, one of the sons of deceased, filed in the probate court of Galveston county an application to set aside and annul as unlawful the sixth, tenth, eleventh, and fifteenth paragraphs of the will. A trial before the court resulted in a judgment upholding the will, and the applicant prosecutes this appeal.
The paragraphs assailed are those which bequeath property to the trust company in trust for Mrs. Grigsby, Mrs. Walthew, and the grandchildren, and authorize the executors to turn over the property to the trust company under the terms of the will. These paragraphs are lengthy, and it is unnecessary to set them out in full, as the features forming the basis of attack may be very briefly stated. The grounds on which the paragraphs are assailed are that the Texas Guaranty & Trust Company is a corporation having no power under its charter or the corporation laws of Texas to take and execute such a trust. It is also contended that, even if the powers conferred by the will came within the scope of the company's charter provisions, the bequest is void, because the company has no lawful corporate existence, and for that reason cannot take. Appellan...
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