Opinion ID: 1619782
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether Donald Ohrt's Mortgage Indebtedness and Contract Purchase Indebtedness Should be Considered in Determining the Abatement of Randall's Bequest.

Text: In Ohrt I this court, in discussing the debts that might require abatement of Randall's bequest stated as follows: According to the estate's federal [estate] tax return, no federal taxes were owing and debts totaled $584,460. This amount included $6199 in funeral expenses, $68,075 in Donald's personal debts, and $511,186 in mortgages and liens on real property of the estate. 516 N.W.2d at 900 n. 2 (emphasis added). During the considerable litigation that has followed Ohrt I, no valid argument has been advanced by any party that would dispute the amount of the mortgages and liens on real property or that would offer a legal basis for not including these obligations as debts to be paid from personal property, thereby abating Randall's bequest. Accepting the court of appeals' reliance in its most recent decision on the federal estate tax return for determining the value of personal property and the amount of debts, that return showed that at the time of his death Donald had mortgage indebtedness to Mutual Benefit Life Insurance Company in the amount of $414,765.20. He also had a land contract purchase indebtedness to Warren Anderson of $96,421.04. Because we conclude that these sums are to be considered as debts, which were to be first paid from the personal property of the estate, the differences between the finding of the district court and the finding of the court of appeals concerning the other debts and concerning the value of the personal property are of no significance. When the indebtedness encumbering the land is considered, the total indebtedness would exceed the value of the remaining personal property by more than Randall's bequest irrespective of whether the findings of the court of appeals or those of the district court are utilized for the other debts and the value of the personal property. The district court was correct in ordering Randall to reimburse the estate in the amount of $96,725.