Title: Baldwin v. Hambleton

State: kansas

Issuer: Kansas Supreme Court

Document:

196 Kan. 353 (1966)
411 P.2d 626
CYNTHIA DOUGLAS BALDWIN, Appellee and Cross-Appellant,
v.
NEAL HAMBLETON, Individually and as Administrator of Estate of Irma Parker, Deceased, In the Matter of the Estate of Lulu M. Hambleton, Deceased, Appellants and Cross-Appellees.
No. 44,355

Supreme Court of Kansas.
Opinion filed March 5, 1966.
*354 Neal Hambleton, of Olathe, argued the cause, and Richard G. Rossman, of Olathe, was with him on the briefs for the appellants and cross-appellees.
Peter A. Martin, of Olathe, argued the cause and was on the briefs for the appellee and cross-appellant.
The opinion of the court was delivered by
HATCHER, C.:
This is an appeal from a judgment construing the language of a will as creating a vested remainder.
The facts pertaining to the issues before us for consideration may be summarized.
C.S. Hambleton died on February 15, 1936, leaving a will dated January 14, 1920. The will was administered but not construed. We are interested in that part of the will which reads:
C.S. Hambleton was survived by his wife, Lulu and four children, Neal, Lola, Ruth and Irma. Ruth died intestate July 14, 1957, leaving as her sole heir a daughter, Cynthia Douglas Baldwin, born October 1, 1940.
Lulu, the widow, died testate on May 7, 1963, without remarrying.
At the death of C.S. Hambleton he owned 44 shares of stock in the De Soto State Bank. As executrix of his estate Lulu transferred the 44 shares of stock to H.E. Miller who transferred it back to her as an individual. No rights are claimed from or based on this transfer. During the lifetime of Lulu the stock increased to 165 shares as a result of stock dividends. On January 22, 1960, Lulu sold 33 shares of the stock. This sale is not questioned.
On June 8, 1962, Lulu made gifts of five shares of the bank stock each to Neal, Irma and Lola. Lulu held in her name at the time of her death a total of 117 shares. The 132 shares are involved in this litigation.
On May 27, 1963, Neal, executor of the will of Lulu, filed for inheritance tax purposes only an inventory and appraisal of the 15 *355 shares, transferred by Lulu within one year of her death, and the 117 shares passing by reason of her death under the will of C.S. Hambleton. On June 12, 1963, Neal, as executor, transferred 39 shares of the stock each to himself, Irma and Lola.
Judgment of final settlement was entered June 15, 1964, in Lulu's estate from which Cynthia appealed to the district court on July 6, 1964. On the same day Cynthia filed an original action in the district court against Neal, Irma and Lola to construe the will of C.S. Hambleton and for a declaratory judgment decreeing her an interest in the bank stock.
Irma died on October 25, 1964, and Neal Hambleton, administrator of her estate, was substituted as a party in both of the above cases.
Defendants answered denying any interest of plaintiff in the stock and contending that by the will of C.S. Hambleton his widow was vested of a life estate with the power of disposition of the stock and all the accretions thereto subject only to the condition that she not remarry, and that the remainder at her death without remarrying passed to the defendant children surviving the widow, Lulu M. Hambleton, in equal shares.
Defendants also filed counterclaims in the original action filed by Cynthia for maintenance and support furnished to Cynthia and her mother.
The case was heard by the trial court on plaintiff's motion to dismiss the counterclaims for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted and for summary judgment in the action to construe the will.
The trial court concluded:
"2. The court construes said will as follows:
The court also denied the defendants' disputed counterclaims and plaintiff's claim for attorney fees.
The defendant, Neal Hambleton, on his own behalf and as administrator *356 of the estate of Irma Parker, deceased, has appealed from the court's ruling on the merits. The plaintiff has cross-appealed from the order denying her attorney fees.
Appellants first contend that the court erred in excluding the deposition of Irma who was deceased at the time of the trial. The alleged purpose of the deposition was to show the character of the testator, his situation at the time he made his will, the nature of his business, the extent of his property and his relations with his family.
The appellants attempted to introduce the deposition at the hearing on the motion to dismiss and for summary judgment. The trial court concluded that when the will was considered from its four corners and under the rules of this court there were no ambiguities requiring the aid of evidence as to surrounding circumstances and therefore the consideration of the deposition would be improper.
We are inclined to agree with the ruling of the trial court. The will does not appear to contain any ambiguity, either latent or patent. The intent of the testator can be determined and the will carried into effect without the aid of extrinsic evidence as will be demonstrated when we consider the meaning of the language in the will.
This court has repeatedly held that extrinsic evidence is not admissible to show the intention of the testator where there is no ambiguity in the language used, or to give the language of the will a meaning different from that which the law attributes thereto. Rules of construction are inapplicable where terms of a will are explicit. (In re Estate of Reynolds, 173 Kan. 102, 244 P.2d 234; In re Estate of Woods, 181 Kan. 271, 311 P.2d 359; In re Estate of Blank, 182 Kan. 426, 320 P.2d 775; Johnston v. Gibson, 184 Kan. 109, 334 P.2d 348; In re Estate of Taylor, 185 Kan. 523, 345 P.2d 1028; In re Estate of Jones, 189 Kan. 34, 366 P.2d 792; Parsons v. Smith, Trustee, 190 Kan. 569, 376 P.2d 899.)
The cardinal rule for the construction of a will is to ascertain the intention and purpose of testator from the language used. (In re Estate of Johnson, 175 Kan. 82, 259 P.2d 176; In re Estate of Freshour, 185 Kan. 434, 345 P.2d 689.)
The appellants contend that:
The trial court considered the language of the will as a whole, which it was required to do. The testator's intent must be gathered from the language of the entire will. (In re Estate of Dobrovolny, 182 Kan. 138, 318 P.2d 1053; Commercial National Bank v. Martin, 185 Kan. 116, 340 P.2d 899; In re Estate of Kelly, 185 Kan. 752, 347 P.2d 428; In re Estate of Miller, 186 Kan. 87, 348 P.2d 1033; In re Estate of Buckner, 186 Kan. 176, 348 P.2d 818; In re Estate of Paulson, 188 Kan. 467, 363 P.2d 422; Parsons v. Smith, Trustee, supra.) The court also applied two rules which are to be considered in connection with the construction of the language used in a will. The law favors early vesting of testamentary gifts and unless a contrary intent appears, interests created by a will are to be construed as vested rather than contingent. (Cramer v. Browne, 159 Kan. 423, 155, P.2d 468; In re Estate of Hauck, 170 Kan. 116, 223 P.2d 707; Commercial National Bank v. Martin, supra; In re Estate of Paulson, supra; Giese v. Smith, 195 Kan. 607, 408 P.2d 687.) Also, a will will be construed in favor of the heirs of the testator and an heir will not be considered as disinherited except by express words or necessary implication. In In re Estate of Lester, 191 Kan. 83, 379 P.2d 275, we stated at page 87 of the opinion:
This rule has also been applied to grandchildren. In Bennett v. Humphreys, 159 Kan. 416, 155 P.2d 431, we held:
We approve of the trial court's approach to the construction of the will and the conclusion reached. We are not impressed with *358 appellants' argument that words "our children" should be construed as a class and the members of the class not determined until the death of the testator's widow.
A remainder is vested if it is to take effect as to possession and enjoyment whenever and however the prior estate is terminated.
The appellants argue that the vesting is affected by the fact that remainder is limited to a class such as "our children."
The mere fact that a remainder is to a class does not render it contingent. A remainder limited to a class consisting of children vests in such of the children as are in being at the time the will takes effect, subject to being opened to let in after-born children.
This court had similar language of a will under consideration in McLean v. Stanley, 134 Kan. 234, 5 P.2d 839, where it was held:
"In a will containing the following provisions:
..............
The appellants suggest that the estate is not fixed because the widow has the power of sale and also she may remarry and the children will only take one-half.
A remainder may be vested subject to partial or complete divestment or defeasance. A remainder is vested subject to complete divestment when the taker is known but the life tenant exercises the power to sell the property.
*359 In Tretbar v. Aged Ministers Home, 180 Kan. 18, 299 P.2d 58, we stated at page 21 of the opinion:
The fact that should the wife remarry, one-half of the estate was to go to her and the other one-half was to go to the children, did not affect the vesting. If the contingency happened, one-half of the property would be divested, and the possession and enjoyment of the other one-half would be accelerated.
We conclude that the language of the will created a vested estate in the children of the testator and his wife, Lulu, and that the plaintiff as the only heir of the child, Ruth, inherited her interest.
The appellants contend that the trial court erred in construing the will to give the widow a life estate with power of disposal but prohibited the disposal of the assets by gift. The contention covers only the fifteen shares transferred to the three living children by Lulu.
This court has held on numerous occasions that a life tenant given a power of sale has a duty to act honorably and in good conscience in exercising such power. The power to sell, being an additional provision for the adequate support of the life tenant, does not incompass a gift of the property.
In the recent case of Stump v. Flint, 195 Kan. 2, 402 P.2d 794, it is stated:
The appellants' final contention is that the trial court erred in sustaining appellee's motion to dismiss and for summary judgment upon the following counterclaims of appellants:
Neither the father, the mother nor the aunt made any claim for maintenance and support of Ruth or her daughter during their lifetime.
The trial court concluded that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations. The appellee suggests in addition that the maintenance and support were gratuitous and that the claims fall within the rule that one member of a family has no right of action against another for board and lodging unless there is an understanding that such a payment will be made.
Without reviewing further reasons we are forced to agree. There is no suggestion that there was any understanding that the father, mother or aunt would be paid for maintenance and support. In In re Estate of Rogers, 184 Kan. 24, 334 P.2d 830, it was held:
There remains for appellate review the question, raised by the cross-appeal, as to appellee's right to attorney fees. The trial court without stating the reason for its decision denied the appellee's motion.
*361 Under the facts and circumstances of this case we have little difficulty in concluding that, under our decisions, the district court had the authority to grant the appellee's motion for attorney fees and that it should have done so.
This court has held in numerous cases that where a meritorious action is brought to construe a will, attorney fees could be allowed under the provisions of K.S.A. 59-1504. Where the action has been brought in the district court the attorney fees permitted under K.S.A. 59-1504 have been allowed as costs under the provision of G.S. 1949, 60-3706 which provides:
G.S. 1949, 60-3706 was not retained in the new Code of Civil Procedure but in lieu thereof we have K.S.A. 60-2003 which provides in part:
..............
In the case now before us the property had been transferred contrary to the provisions of the will. It was only through the successful efforts of the appellee that the language of the will was properly construed and the intention of the testator properly carried out. In the recent case of Parsons v. Smith, Trustee, 190 Kan. 569, 376 P.2d 899, the cases covering the points under discussion are cited in a statement by this court as follows:
The corpus of the estate of C.S. Hambleton, the 132 shares of bank stock, is still in the hands of the two living children and the estate of the deceased child of the testator and is available for paying costs including attorney fees.
The judgment on the merits of the case is affirmed but the judgment denying plaintiff's motion for attorney fees is reversed with instructions to make a proper allowance of fees for plaintiff's attorney to be assessed against the corpus of the property before its division into one-fourth equal shares and distributed in accordance with the order of the trial court.
APPROVED BY THE COURT.