Hessig v. Hessig's Guardian
Hessig v. Hessig's Guardian
Opinion of the Court
Opinion of the Court by
Affirming..
Catherine Hessig died testate, a resident of Mc-Craeken county, in August, 1906. Her will, which was made shortly before her death, was duly admitted to probate, and this suit was brought for a settlement of her estate by F. Gr. Rudolph, who was the administrator, with the will annexed, the executors named in the will having failed to qualify. She left surviving her an only son, Dr. Herman T. Hessig, who was her sole heir at law. Dr. Hessig had two children, Carl and Fred, who were infants living in New York. They were made defendants to the petition, and their guardian ad litem filed an answer and cross-petition in the suit against their father, growing out of the following matter: Mrs. Hessig had a son, Fred A.- Hessig, who died in the fall of 1903, a bachelor, leaving an estate amounting to something over $20,000. He left no will. His mother was his sole heir at law if he was domiciled in Kentucky; but his mother and brother, Herman, were jointly his heirs at law.if he was domiciled in Tennessee at the time of his death. He died in Paducah, but he had lived for many years in Memphis. His property was there, and so, to cover all question, Dr. Herman T. Hessig, who qualified as his personal representative in Kentucky, also qualified as such in Memphis, and received the estate
“(3) I bequeath, will and devise unto my beloved son, Herman T. Hessig, the two lots and.houses thereon situated, which are on the corner of Eighth and Jackson streets in Paducah, Ky., for and during his natural life, remainder to the heirs of his body.
“(4) I will, devise and bequeath all my property lying at the intersection of Ninth and Jones streets in Paducah, Ky., to my two beloved grandchildren, Carl and Freddy Hessig, equally; but should either of them die before Carl shall become of age, leaving no issue, then the interest of the one so dying to pass to the survivor and to my son, Herman T. Hessig; the interest so passing to my son Herman T. Hessig shall be for his life, remainder to the heirs of his body. In the event both of my grandchildren shall die without issue before the time Carl shall become of age, to-wit, twenty-one years old; then and in that event all right and title which they have in and to the above devised property shall descend to and become fixed in my son Herman T. Hessig for life, remainder to the heirs of his body.
*521 “It is further my will aud bequest, that the property on Jones street at the intersection of Eighth street shall he preserved intact, and undisposed of until such time as Carl shall become 21 years of age, and may then be disposed of or divided as the owners thereof may desire. My executors herein named or their successors, who may qualify, shall have the right to take charge of and possession of the Eighth and Jones street property and shall have full power and authority to rent and manage the same, to pay taxes, repairs and insurance and such other necessary expenses as to them may seem proper and right, and out of the proceeds they shall pass over to my said grandchildren the sum of $30.00 per month, monthly for their support and tuition, until such time as Carl shall become of age, and the property is subject to be divided under the terms of this will.
‘ ‘ The balance of the rents and profits of the houses on said Eighth and Jones street after paying taxes, repairs, insurance or other necessary expenses shall be either kept until there be enough to build other house or houses on said lots, or it may be paid over by my said executor or their successors to the said Carl and Freddie, or their heirs, as in the judgment of my executors may seem to the best interest of the owners of the said property.
“ (5) I have not received a deed to the property on the corner of Ninth and Jones streets, or the house in which my son Herman T. Hessig resides on the corner of Eighth and Jackson streets, but I have bought same in at the sale by the trustees in bankruptcy in the matter of Herman T. Hessig in bankruptcy and the price on said purchase has been paid by me, and in the event I shall die before the deeds are made to me I hereby direct that the deeds to the*522 several lots shall he made to the devisees mentioned in this will and in accordance with its terms and provisions, and that the said property shall be in all respects treated as though the deeds to same had been made at the time of the execution of this will.
“(6) I give and bequeath and devise to my grandson Carl my gold watch and chain.
“(7) It is my wish that my household and kitchen furniture and all other personal property, undisposed of at the time of my death shall be equally divided between my son Herman and my grandchildren Carl and Freddie, or it may be sold by my executors, and the residue after paying my debts and funeral expenses may divide the same as above except that any balance I may owe on the Jones street property shall be paid out of the proceeds of that property.”
There was a lien on the Jones street property for a balance of purchase money, and there was also a lien on this property for a street assessment. The ordinance providing for the assessment was passed just before Mrs. Hessig died, but the contract for the work was made after she died, and the work of course was done also after she died. The guardian ad litem for the two infants in this case sought to charge the property devised Dr. Hessig with all the debts of the estate, and also with the apportionment warrant, and the balance of the purchase money due on the Jones street property, on the ground that by the will the Jones street property was not to be disposed of until the infants were 21 years old. . He also made his answer a cross-petition against Dr. Hessig, and sought to recover of him one-half of the estate of Fred Hessig in his hands, on the ground that the release signed by his mother was without consideration and obtained by duress. He also sought a judg
We do not find in the record any evidence at all that the receipt signed by Mrs. Hessig to Dr. Hessig was obtained by duress. T'he only evidence relied on to show duress is that the county judge in November said to Dr. Hessig that if he did not make a settlement he would have to proceed against him for contempt. This was a very reasonable statement for the county judge to make, for Hessig had failed for three* months to obey the orders of the court, and he had lost the receipt which he had obtained in August for the purpose of making a settlement, thus showing that he was neglecting the matter. There is no proof that this statement of the county judge was communicated to Mrs. Hessig, and it could not have influenced her ccsnduet in any way, for the reason that she had executed a similar receipt in August, three months before anything of this sort was said by the county judge. That she was not imposed upon, and that she fully understood what she did, is manifest from her deposition in the bankruptcy case given some months later, and after she had full time to reflect upon the
The claim for purchase money, amounting to $392.30, was primarily a lien on the Jones street property. It was not a lien on any other property. The testatrix in her will expressly provided that
The claim of Thomas Bridges & Son for the street assessment was not a debt of Mrs. Hessig’s. It was a lien on lots 13, 14, 15, 1.6 and 17, and these lots are liable for the claim,; but she was not personally liable-for it, nor is it a claim that may properly be demanded of the administrator. The court should not order the land sold in this action to pay the claim, but should direct the executors to apply the rents coming to-
The judgment appealed from on the cross-appeal is affirmed; on the original appeal the judgment is reversed, and the cause is remanded with directions to the circuit- court to dismiss the cross-petition against Dr. Hessig, and for further proceedings not inconsistent With this opinion.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.