Opinion ID: 1824316
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: other lapsed legacies and devises should have gone to tomsche, mason's sole heir at law.

Text: We need not consider this claim on appeal because of Tomsche's failure to cite any authority. R.C. Petroleum, 555 So.2d at 1023; Kelly, 553 So.2d at 521. But the error apparent from the record compels us to address this issue and remand to the chancellor. Tomsche first took issue with the chancellor's determination regarding item four of the will, which gave one-eighth (1/8) of Mason's estate to five named friends. The chancellor found that the lapsed portion to Berteale Eavins, who predeceased Mason, should be distributed among the four others named in the group. Tomsche asserted that he, as Mason's sole heir at law, should be entitled to take the lapsed gift to Berteale Eavins. This Court will reverse a chancellor only when he is manifestly wrong. Hans v. Hans, 482 So.2d 1117, 1119 (Miss. 1986); Duane v. Saltaformaggio, 455 So.2d 753, 757 (Miss. 1984). We will not disturb findings of the chancellor unless he was manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous or an erroneous legal standard was applied. Tinnin v. First United Bank of Miss., 570 So.2d 1193, 1194 (Miss. 1990); Bell v. Parker, 563 So.2d 594, 596-97 (Miss. 1990). Where there is substantial evidence to support his findings, this Court is without the authority to disturb his conclusions, although we might have found otherwise as an original matter. In re Estate of Harris, 539 So.2d 1040, 1043 (Miss. 1989). Additionally, where the chancellor has made no specific findings, we will proceed on the assumption that he resolved all such fact issues in favor of the appellee. Newsom v. Newsom, 557 So.2d 511, 514 (Miss. 1990). The chancellor's decision must be upheld unless it is found to be contrary to the weight of the evidence or if it is manifestly wrong. O.J. Stanton and Co., Inc. v. Mississippi State Highway Commission, 370 So.2d 909, 911 (Miss. 1979). Had the gift been to only Berteale Eavins, and she predeceased Mason, the gift would have lapsed and gone to Tomsche as the sole heir at law, there being no residuary clause in the will. Tinnin, 502 So.2d at 665; Will of Palmer, 359 So.2d at 754; Oliphant, 230 Miss. at 522-24, 93 So.2d at 182-83; Byrd, 182 Miss. at 515, 181 So. at 731. Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-7 (1972), our anti-lapse statute, would not apply as Eavins was not a child or descendent of Mason. Kullman v. Dreyfus Estate, 201 Miss. 887, 889-90, 30 So.2d 81, 81 (1947). As the chancellor found the four other named friends should take Eavins' share of the bequest, we must assume he found this to be a class gift. Whether a gift is to a class or to the individuals who comprise the class at the time the will is executed is a construction question, the answer to which depends upon the intent of the testator. Cain v. Dunn, 241 So.2d 650, 651-52 (Miss. 1970). A gift is found to be a class gift where the beneficiaries form a unit and the gift is to that unit rather than to the separate individuals who compromise that unit. Moffett v. Howard, 392 So.2d 509, 510 (Miss. 1981). Of paramount importance here is whether the testator was group-minded or individual-minded. Id. Generally, a gift to a group whose members are not individually named is held to be a class gift. Lee v. Foley, 224 Miss. 684, 689, 80 So.2d 765, 766 (1955). There is a presumption that a gift to named individuals is a gift to the individuals, although the named individuals may constitute a natural class. Moffett, 392 So.2d at 510; Lee, 224 Miss. at 689, 80 So.2d at 766. This presumption is overcome if evidence of a different intent is found in the will or in surrounding circumstances. Cain, 241 So.2d at 652. As we start with the presumption that the gift is to the named individuals rather than to a class, there must be evidence of a different intent to overcome this presumption. The chancellor found that although Mason did not state that the bequests in item four should be to the survivors among the class of friends named, she intended the same. This he found from all four corners of the instrument, but we fail to see such evidence of intent. Lacking substantial evidence to support the chancellor's finding, we reverse him on this issue. The gift contained in item four was a gift to the named individuals rather than a class gift. As Berteale Eavins predeceased Mason, the gift to her lapsed and passes to Tomsche, Mason's sole heir at law, because there is no residuary clause. Tomsche also attacked the chancellor's distribution of the bequest contained in item five, which attempted to give one-eighth (1/8) of Mason's estate to the persons who cared for her in the last days of her life, selected by the twelve persons chosen by her executors. The chancellor found this a lapsed gift and ordered distribution to Tomsche and the other devisees of the will, the latter to take in the proportions of the other gifts to them as set forth in the will. Once again, Tomsche contended he should receive the lapsed gift as Mason's sole heir at law. As stated previously, lapsed gifts of realty and personalty pass to the residuary clause of the will or, if the will contains no such clause, to the heirs at law. Tinnin, 502 So.2d at 659; Will of Palmer, 359 So.2d at 754; Oliphant, 230 Miss. at 522-24, 93 So.2d at 182-83; Byrd, 182 Miss. at 515, 181 So. at 731. It follows that Tomsche should take the lapsed gift of item five. The chancellor was manifestly in error and we reverse.