Teipel v. Vanderweier
Teipel v. Vanderweier
Opinion of the Court
The trial court rested its decision in this case upon the ground that the plaintiffs were estopped, by the receipt of the distributive shares secured to them by the mortgage of their mother to their guardian, from questioning the validity of the deed executed by their father, which is in controversy here. If there is sufficient evidence to sustain the findings of fact, and the latter support the conclusion of the court, it will be unnecessary to examine any other points raised in the case.
The following facts are established by the findings, and supported by the proof: '
One Lewis Teipel, father of the plaintiffs, deceased January 30, 1865, intestate, leaving him surviving the plaintiffs and two other children, and his wife, Mary Teipel. He had previously been sick of the disease of which he died, and three days before the last-mentioned date, in anticipation of death, and to avoid the necessity of probate proceedings, he executed and acknowledged.a deed in due form, his wife joining therein, conveying the land in controversy, .and running to one Martin Bruggermann as grantee, with instructions to have the same delivered in case of his death, upon the understanding that the grantee was to receive the same in trust, and reconvey dhe land to Mary Teipel, and that the latter should make provision for the children of the grantor satisfactory to Bruggermann. The latter, before the decease of Teipel, was informed of the arrangement proposed, and consented to become a party thereto. The deed was subsequently delivered to Bruggermann, April 20, 1865, who on the same day conveyed the same land to Mary Teipel, widow. Both deeds were recorded April 27, 1865. He was also appointed guardian of the children of the deceased, and thereafter, on the fifth day of January, 1866, in order to carry out the arrangement referred to, and the desires and purposes of the deceased, she executed to Brug. germann, as guardian, a bond by which she obligated herself to pa}1, the sum of $3,500, to be equally divided among the children, or the survivors of them, as they respectively became of age, with annual interest ; and also duly executed to him a mortgage of the land so con
The court expressly finds that all the transactions above referred to; including the deeds, mortgage, and settlement, were had and done in good faith by the parties engaged therein. It is also found “that the plaintiffs, when they received the money paid by Mary Teipel as aforesaid, knew that said real estate belonged to their father prior to his death, and knew that there was some transaction by which the title thereto was transferred from their father to their mother at or about the time of his death; and they understood, also, that they were entitled to share in such real estate, and that the money received by them was paid to them as their shares, respectively, under an agreement between their guardian and their mother. The details of the transaction they did not learn, and did not inquire into, until early in the year 1885.
-The guardian was the uncle of plaintiffs, and interested for them. Mrs. Teipel died in the early part of 1877, and the same year her estate was settled, when, as the court finds, this property was worth about $6,000. They understood that the sums received by them in settlement represented their shares in the land. The releases executed by them disclosed that the mortgage had been given to their guardian by Mrs. Teipel to secure the same. This would lead, if followed up, to the Btate of the record, and the nature of the title acquired by
Under these circumstances, their failure to make any inquiry within a reasonable time should be treated as evidence of an election on their part to acquiesce in and abide by the terms of the settlement, and the case presents no equities which should move the court now to interfere to set it aside.
Judgment affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.