Parsons v. Parsons
Parsons v. Parsons
Opinion of the Court
Opinion by
This case involves the settlement of the estate of Charles B. Parsons, and is made difficult to understand by reason of the many
The estate has certainly been recklessly managed, causing its financial ruin and a loss to the widow of a very handsome income. She, confiding in the children, consented to a partition of the estate and looked alone to them for the payment of the debts, and their failure to pay has originated all this trouble. If her sons, or either of them, as her agents, have failed to collect or pay over to her the rents she is entitled to receive her remedy by a separate action, as the claim cannot be asserted in the settlement of her husband’s estate. She was entitled to the rents and income as provided by the will of her husband, and the claim by some of the children against the others for advancements made by the mother out of this income was properly disregarded, as it constituted no part of the estate of their father. It was the property of and belonged to Mrs. Parsons, and she could dispose of it as she pleased.
The amounts with which the children have been charged are as nearly correct as is possible to determine under the proof in the case. Although the property of some of the children was-sold to pay these debts the amount acutally realized from the sale is all that the children who owned this property can claim as against the other heirs. They ought not to have permitted their property to be sacrificed, and whether so or not the amount they have actually paid is all they can be credited by, whether that payment was made in money or by the sale of realty. There can be no doubt but that the relinquishment by the widow was in consideration of the assumption of the debts by the children; and the opinion being based on this view of the case the settlement made is ju§t and equitable, and it was proper to include in the estimate of the debts the sum due the National Bank, as it contributed to improve or has been expended on the common estate.
The claim asserted by Mrs. Brodie by her exceptions, as well as the claim asserted against her by reason of the improvement made on her estate, as properly adjusted; and, in fact, when considering the bad management of the estate and the tangle in which we find the various claims and accounts, no nearer approach to the equities of the parties can be reached than has been by the court below. It is suggested -that some of this property has been sold twice, and the
The judgment is affirmed on the original and cross-appeals.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.