Succession of Marx
Succession of Marx
Opinion of the Court
The controversy in this case relates chiefly to whether the widow of the deceased is entitled to the benefit of the Homestead act upon her avowal of being left in necessitous circumstances at the death of her husband. Marx died in December, 1868, leaving a widow and six minor children. The property of his estate, real and personal, was appraised at $4245. There were debts against the estate amounting to $1200. The widow and tutrix, upon the advice of a family meeting, borrowed money by mortgaging the real estate to pay the debts. The money was loaned by one Boesel, the
From this judgment the tutrix appealed. The judge a quo thought that, as it is shown the estate at the time of the death of Marx was worth $3045 over and above the amount of its debts, it can not be taken as insolvent, nor that the widow was left in necessitous circumstances. He assumed under the authority of the case of the succession of Norton, 18 An. p. 36, that “the right granted to the widow or minor children of a deceased person by the homestead act, vests in them at the time of the death of the deceased, provided their condition of life at that moment entitles them to the benefit of the provisions of the act; their pecuniary circumstances at the time of the death of the insolvent and not at any subsequent time, settles their right to any claim under the act.”
We find no reason for altering the decree of the lower court.
Judgment affirmed.
Rehearing refused.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.