Wilson v. Johnson
Wilson v. Johnson
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
This is an action brought in the district court of Franklin county by Matilda Johnson to recover the possession of the undivided one-half of certain real estate, and to procure the partition thereof. Plaintiff alleged ownership in herself, and claimed that Mary E. Wilson, William M. Wilson and J. R. Barnett, defendants, were wrongfully withholding the possession from her. Barnett filed a disclaimer, alleg
“2. Since the homestead where I now live with my husband, James Davis, to wit, lots 13, 15, and north 19 feet of lot 17, block 55, Ottawa city, is now owned by both of us as tenants in common, each of us owning the undivided one-half thereof, and in order that my husband may have the use of said homestead, I hereby give and devise to my said husband, James Davis, the possession, use and control of all my interests in and to said homestead, for and during the natural life of my said husband, and also the use of all thé household furniture therein.
“3. I give, bequeath and devise to my sister, Matilda Johnson, and to her heirs and assigns forever, all my property of every kind and nature, both real and personal, to have, hold, use, control and dispose of as to her may seem best, including all my interest in said homestead above mentioned, and said household furniture, subject, however, to the life-estate of my said husband in the property mentioned in item 2 of this will.”
Attached to said will is the following statement made by James Davis:
“I, James Davis, the husband of Catherine Davis, having been made acquainted with the provisions of the within will and of the disposition therein made' by said Catherine Davis of her property, do hereby*750 consent to the same. Witness my hand, this 7th day of February, 1887. Jam^s Davis.”
“We hereby certify that the said James Davis signed the above consent in our presence, this 7th day of February, 1887. Maggie Davis.
Lucy J. Latimer.
Wm. H. Clark.”
On June 23, 1888, Catherine Davis died, and, on June 25, her will, as above stated wms duly probated. The claim of the plaintiff below, Matilda Johnson, is based upon the above facts.
On December 15, 1888, James Davis executed a will, which contained among other things the following section:
“2. To Mary E. Wilson and William M. Wilson, her husband, I give, bequeath, and devise, in fee simple absolute, all the following-described real estate, situated in Franklin county, Kansas, to wit: Lots 13 and 15, and the north 19 feet of 17, in block 55, in the city of Ottawa, Franklin county, Kansas, to have and to hold, to them, their heirs and assigns, forever.”
On November 5, 1890, James Davis died, and, on November 10, 1890, his will was duly probated. The defendants below are in possession of the property, claiming title under the will of James Davis. The (jase was tried by the court without a jury, and judgment was rendered against the plaintiffs in error, defendants below, the Wilsons. They bring the case here for review.
The only question to be determined by us is, Did the will of Catherine Davis and the consent of James Davis attached thereto vest the title to the real estate in dispute in Matilda Johnson after the life-estate of •James Davis had been determined? It must be conceded that the deed from Dawson and wife conveyed
In the case at bar, the following language is contained in the will of Catherine Davis: “Since the homestead where I now live with my husband, James Davis, . . • . is now owned by both of us as tenants in common, each of us owning the undivided one-half thereof. . . .” The defendant in error contends that the consent of James Davis to. the provisions of his wife’s will and the disposition of her property was, in fact, a deed, whereby he agreed to stand seized thenceforth as tenant in common with her, and that, being a tenant in common, the devise of her one-half of the property is valid. This is the pivotal point in this case. If by the will of Catherine Davis and the consent of James Davis attached thereto the estate in entirety was destroyed, and they thereafter held the estate as tenants in common, then the judgment oh the district court is correct and must be af
In analyzing the will of Mrs. Davis, it is clearly apparent that she was ignorant of the estate she owned in the homestead. She says that she is a tenant in common with Mr. Davis, and owns the undivided one-half of such homestead. The fact is, she was the owner of an estate in entirety with her husband. She was solicitous of securing to her husband a life-estate, and attempted to do so by the will. He already had a life-estate. Had she been fully apprised of the interest she had in the homestead, we do not know what she might have desired to do, unless we are guided by the provisions of the will. We have only to deal with what she did. At the time she was- about to make the will she owned the estate in entirety. Is the assumption in the will that as tenant in common she owned the undivided one-half thereof sufficient upon her part to change her estate in the homestead? At the time of the making of Mrs. Davis’s will James Davis owned the estate in entirety. Is his statement that he hadbeen made acquainted with the provisions of Mrs. Davis’s will and the disposition made of her property thereby, to which he consents, sufficient upon his part to change his estate in the homestead? To answer each of these questions in
“No man, while married, shall bequeath away from his wife more than one-half of his property, nor shall any woman, while married, bequeath away from her husband more than one-half of her property. But either may consent, in writing, executed in the presence of two witnesses, that the other may bequeath more than one-half of his or her property from the one so consenting.”
It will be noticed that the will speaks of all the household furniture and ‘ ‘ all my property of every kind and nature, both real and personal, ... including all my interest in said homestead.” Mrs. Davis was at least bequeathing away from her husband more than one-half of her household furniture, which she could not do without his consent, executed in the presence of two witnesses. It seems more reasonable to us to suppose that he signed the consent to permit her to do this, than it does to suppose that he signed it to permit her to devise away from him his own property, to wit, his contingent estate in fee sim
If we are to construe these transactions as a contract between Mr. and Mrs. Davis, all the elements of a contract must appear. Not only must they have contracted under standingly, and their minds have met upon the same proposition, but a consideration must have passed between them. If either is to receive nothing, we cannot construe the transaction as a contract.
Admitting all the contentions of the defendant in error, we are unable to discover what consideration was to pass to James Davis. Certainly not the life-estate. It was already his. He signed the consent to permit his wife to bequeath her property which is provided for by statute, and this consent imports its own consideration ; but when we aré asked to construe that consent into a conveyance of an interest or estate in his property, the consideration therefor must appear. James Davis did not recognize the right of Matilda Johnson to the property, for, while he was in possession of the property, he made the will by which he bequeathed and devised “in fee simple absolute’’ all the homestead in question to Mary E. and William M. Wilson.
The judgment of the district court is reversed, and the cause remanded, with instructions to render judgment for the defendants below.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.