Roebling v. Walters
Roebling v. Walters
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
By the Court,
This is an appeal from an order of the district court admitting the will of Caroline Roebling Walters, deceased, to probate.
The testatrix died through accident in Washoe County, Nevada, on July 8, 1939, without having made another will. She left surviving her husband, Walters, and two daughters the issue of her marriage to Hagner, aged eight and two, residing with their father, Hagner, at Washington, D. C. All the estate consists of separate property owned by the testatrix prior to her marriage to Walters.
The question of law presented on this appeal is whether the marriage of said testatrix to Walters and, her death revoked her prior will made while she was married to Hagner and in which appellant was not mentioned.
Appellant contends that the said will and codicil were revoked by the marriage of the testatrix to Walters: First, under the terms and provisions of section 2 of the wills act (sec. 9906 N. C. L.; second, under the terms and provisions of section 8 (sec. 9912 N. C. L.); third, under the doctrine that the masculine terms in the statute must be construed to include the feminine; fourth, under what appellant claims to be a constitutional construction of the statute as differentiated from what he claims was an unconstitutional construction placed upon it by the trial court; fifth, under the common law as adopted in Nevada, if there is no statutory provision applicable.
We will dispose of the contentions in the order named.
First. Was the will revoked under the terms of section 9906 N. C. L., which reads as follows: “Any
Under the common law a married woman could not make a will. In 1862 there was enacted in this state a statute, under section 2 of which a married woman could make, alter or revoke a will in like manner as a person under no disability might do, subject, however, to the limitation that the making, altering or revocation must be with the formal written consent of the husband. In 1873 said section 2 was amended to read as above set forth. It will be noted that the limitation as to the written consent of the husband was removed; the mention of common property was dropped, and the word “might” changed to “may.” Appellant presents the view that the removal by the legislature of the limitation as to the making, altering or revocation subject to the consent of the husband, by the 1873 amendment, placed married women in the same position as married men in making, altering or revoking wills relating to separate property, and placed wills of married women, as to revocation, in the same position as those of men and unmarried women possessing the qualifications prescribed by section 1 of the act (sec. 9905 N. C. L.). In other words, appellant construes the words “in like manner as a person under no disability may do” as evidencing the manner in which a will of a person under no disability is to be deemed revoked by implication of law, as well as the way a person- may revoke it by a subsequent testamentary instrument or by the other affirmative methods prescribed by statute.
We are unable to agree with that construction. The legislature dealt with methods of revocation, express and implied in other sections of the wills act (sections 9912 to 9917 N. C. L., both inclusive). Section 2 of the
The terms “deemed revoked” or “revoked by implication (or operation) of law” mean something different from the term “revoked.”
“Revocation is an act done by the party, by which he recalls his will. The statute, therefore, with propriety says, not that marriage revokes, but.that it is to be deemed, or considered the same as, a revocation. It is not a revocation, but it has the effect of a revocation.” Lathrop v. Dunlop, 4 Hun, N. Y., 213.
“To revoke is to recall, cancel, or set aside, and a revocation can only be by the grantor, licensor, or maker of an instrument granting a right or privilege. * * * The statute declares that a subsequent marriage shall be deemed a revocation of a will, which means that the act of the testator in entering into the new relation shall be considered and regarded as a recalling, canceling, or setting aside of his will.” Ford v. Greenawalt, 292 Ill. 121, 126 N. E. 555, 557.
An examination of the statutes on wills discloses that the legislature used those terms in the sense,
“Where an amendment leaves certain portions of the original act unchanged, such portions are continued in force, with the same meaning and effect they had before the amendment. So where an amendatory act provides that an existing statute shall be amended to read as recited in the amendatory act, such portions of the existing law as are retained, either literally or substantially, are regarded as a continuation of the existing law, and not as a new enactment.” 59 C. J. 1097.
The construction contended for by appellant would apply to a will executed by a married woman the same statutory rules of implied revocation as apply to wills executed by men and by unmarried women. To effect the revocation of a man’s will by implication three things are necessary: Marriage, failure to mention his wife in the will, and her survival of him. Marriage alone is deemed the revocation of an unmarried woman’s will. Circumstances necessary to imply the revocation of a will executed by a “person under no disability” are entirely different in the case of a man than in that of an unmarried woman, and we cannot ascribe to the legislature an intent to leave the question of the will of a married woman in an uncertain state, when it was definite as to others. Section 9906 was intended to remove the testamentary disability of married women, and in
The will was not revoked under the terms of section 9906 N. C. L.
The second proposition advanced by appellant is that the will was revoked under the provisions of section 9912 N. C. L., which reads as follows: “No will in writing shall be revoked unless by burning, tearing, canceling, or obliterating the same, with the intention of revoking it, by the testator, or by some person in his presence, or by his direction, or by some other will or codicil in writing, executed as prescribed by this act; but nothing contained in this section shall prevent the revocation implied by law from subsequent changes in the condition or circumstances of the testator.”
Appellant’s contention is summed up by him in the following language: “If the husband or wife share substantially in the estate through dower or curtesy or a substitute therefor, regardless of a will made prior to marriage, then there has been no such change in conditions or circumstances as to require revocation of the will; but if, on the other hand, there is no statutory provision for dower or curtesy or a substitute therefor to be taken regardless of the will, and the sustaining of such will results in the surviving spouse being precluded from the estate and in sharing substantially therein, then there is such a change in conditions and circumstances as to revoke the will by implication.”
In considering the provisions of section 9912 N. C. L., we must keep in mind that revocations by implication are not favored. In re Adler’s Estate, 52 Wash. 539, 100 P. 1019, 1023. And, also, that a proviso such as is found in section 9912 should be strictly construed. 59 C. J. 1089.
Our consideration of the cases cited results in the conclusion that the revocation implied by law referred to in said section 9912 refers to the implication in force and effect at common law. Under the common law marriage revoked a woman’s will. The reasons
Therefore, if the revocations implied by law referred to in section 9912 N. C. L. were the revocations known to the common law, then insofar as a woman’s will is concerned, by reason of the rule having ceased to exist, that proviso has no application. If section 9906
We have given careful attention to the contention of appellant that a will made by a woman while married could be revoked under the terms of section 9914, on the ground that the masculine terms should be held to include the feminine, and have read the cases cited in support of that proposition. To our minds they are not applicable as authority here, because of the fact that with them no such situation existed as does with us, where one section deals specifically with the masculine and is followed by a section dealing with the feminine. There is no more justification for saying that a will executed by a woman while married would fall within the provisions of section 9914 than to say it would fall within the provisions of section 9915.
“Where the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, and its meaning clear and unmistakable, there is no room for construction, and the courts are not permitted to search for its meaning beyond the statute
The mention of an unmarried woman’s will in section 9915 excludes that of a married woman; such is the plain implication. The rule of expressio unius est exclusio alterius is applicable. And to us it is equally plain that in adopting section 9914 the legislature was considering men’s wills, and not those of women.
To sum up, we cannot but conclude that the legislature in enacting section 9914 had in mind only a man’s will; that in enacting section 9915 it had in mind only a woman’s will; and that “if the legislature had intended the marriage of a woman who, while married, had made a will, to operate to revoke it, it would have said so.” Hibberd v. Trask, 160 Ind. 498, 67 N. E. 179, 180.
We feel that the statute on wills is constitutional, even though we hold that a will executed by an unmarried woman is deemed revoked by her subsequent marriage, but that a will executed by a married woman is not to be deemed so revoked. This distinction is not unreasonable and arbitrary,- and its operation is uniform as to members of the class to which it is made applicable.
“But if the classification is not wholly unreasonable and arbitrary, so that the statute is uniform- in its operation on all members of the class to which it is made applicable, no one is denied the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the federal constitution [Amend. 14.]” 6 R. C. L., sec. 372, p. 378.
For many years the legislatures of the different states have differentiated between married and unmarried women regarding their right to make wills. That power in Nevada has existed at all times as to unmarried women, but was not given to married women until 1873.
“The power to make wills is neither a natural nor a constitutional right; it depends upon the statute, and may be conferred, regulated, limited or taken away in whole or in part by legislative enactment.” Alexander
Appellant asserts that where the power to execute wills is conferred by statute upon certain classes, and subsequent to their enactment the same power is conferred upon other persons of the same class, then the wills of the persons to whom the power is subsequently given are revoked in the same manner as those of the persons previously holding the right to execute wills. The foremost case cited in support of this contention is In re Booth’s Will, 40 Or. 154, 66 P. 710. This case holds that where a statute existed providing for the revocation of an unmarried woman’s will, such as section 9915 N. C. L., and subsequent to the enactment of such a statute married women were given the right to execute wills, the statute emancipating married women did not repeal the prior enactment relative to unmarried women. We think it can further logically be said that while the emancipatory statute relative to married women did not repeal the statute relative to the revocation of unmarried women’s wills, it just as certainly did not amend that statute so as to include within its provisions the revocation of a married woman’s will. We cannot subscribe to the idea that the statutes providing for revocation of a man’s will and for the revocation of an unmarried woman’s will, upon the subsequent enactment of a statute giving to married women the right to execute a will, were expanded so as to include married women within their intent and purposes. We do not agree that married women are in the same class.
Appellant is not without substantial authority supporting the contentions he here makes. We have followed what we deem to be the weight of authority and which we believe more logically squares with our statutory background.
If the statutes of Nevada were silent on the matter of revocation of wills by marriage, we could find more justification for a holding that marriage revokes
In a summary of his brief counsel for the minor heirs has classified the cases sustaining the conclusion we have reached in this case, and we believe it may be of assistance to repeat the classification in this opinion.
The exact question has been adjudicated in eight decisions that we have considered. In Van Guelpen’s Estate, 87 Wash. 146, 151 P. 245, Ann. Cas. 1917c, 1037, the will of a married woman was held revoked. In the following seven cases, with facts identical to those in the instant case, wills executed by married women were upheld: Burton’s Will, 4 Misc. 512, 25 N. Y. S. 824; Chapman v. Dismer, 14 App. D. C. 446; Comassi’s Estate, 107 Cal. 1, 40 P. 15, 28 L. R. A. 414; Hibberd v. Trask, 160 Ind. 498, 67 N. E. 179; Lufkin’s Estate, 32 Haw. 826; McLarney’s Estate, 153 N. Y. 416, 47 N. E. 817, 60 Am. St. Rep. 664; Ward’s Will, 70 Wis. 251, 35 N. W. 731, 5 Am. St. Rep. 174.
Cases rendered in jurisdictions having a section comparable to section 9912 N. C. L. and which support our conclusion, are: Kelly v. Stevenson, 85 Minn. 247, 88 N. W. 739, 56 L. R. A. 754, 89 Am. St. Rep. 545; Re Ward’s Will, 70 Wis. 251, 35 N. W. 731, 5 Am. St. Rep. 174; Re Lyon’s Will, 96 Wis. 339, 71 N. W. 363, 65 Am. St. Rep. 52; Fellows v. Allen, 60 N. H. 439, 49 Am. Rep. 328; Re Hunt’s Will, 81 Me. 275, 17 A. 68; Morton v. Onion, 45 Vt. 145; Noyes v. Southworth, 55 Mich. 173, 20 N. W. 891, 54 Am. Rep. 350; Re Lufkin’s Estate, 32 Haw. 826.
Cases rendered in jurisdictions having a section comparable to section 9915 N. C. L. and which support our,
At the time of the decision in Comassi’s Estate, supra, California had sections similar to sections 9914 and 9915, N. C. L., and that case sustains our conclusion.
Lufkin’s Estate, 32 Haw. 826, is the most nearly in point of all cases cited, and it sustains our conclusion.
The order of the trial court admitting the will to probate is affirmed.
070rehearing
On Petition for Rehearing
Rehearing denied.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- In the Matter of the Estate of CAROLINE ROEBLING WALTERS, ROBERT C. ROEBLING, GEORGE CUTTING, Proponents and v. PAUL A. WALTERS, Contestant and
- Status
- Published