Court Opinion

ID: 9695243
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 18:13:34.529733+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:10.323655
License: Public Domain

Broadfoot, J.
(dissenting in part). I agree with the majority of the court that the doctrine of equitable conversion cannot be sustained in this case.
I cannot, however, agree that the order appealed from should be reversed. In my opinion the trial court reached the proper result in view of the fact that we are dealing with an insolvent estate. The purpose of sec. 313.15, Stats., is to provide allowances for minor children where necessary for their support and maintenance until their shares of the estate *13are made available to them. In cases of necessity the provisions of the statute are properly invoked even at the expense of creditors. Allowances were made to the minors under subs. (2) and (3). In addition to the fact that no necessity was shown, the record discloses that at the time of the death of Mrs. Dusterhoft the minor children were receiving an allowance from the Veterans Administration, because their father was a veteran. There is also reference in the record to a bank account and the proceeds of a life insurance policy, not assets of the estate, that were available to the children. Their shares of the first $5,000 of the proceeds of the sale of the homestead were also available.
Where the order of the trial court results in a fair determination of the issue, I think the litigation should be ended as soon as possible without other proceedings that will only deplete the estate further. This is true even though the majority opinion states that the trial court gave the wrong reason for its decision. I cannot believe that the trial court would, in the exercise of its discretion, award further allowances to the minors at the expense of creditors, upon the record before us. Therefore, I think we should affirm the order.