Halsted v. McChesney
Halsted v. McChesney
Opinion of the Court
An arrangement was made by which the plaintiff was to purchase a farm, and, to aid in such purchase, the father of plaintiff was to give to him the sum of one thousand dollars, and the defendant, the father of plaintiff’s wife, was to give to her the sum of fifteen hundred dollars, which last mentioned sum was to be considered and treated as an advance to his daughter. The farm was purchased and the money paid according to agreement, and the defendant took from the plaintiff a bond direct to his wife, whereby the plaintiff promised and consented to pay to her the said sum of fifteen hundred dollars and interest thereon. Thus the agreement between all the parties was carried into complete effect. The money had then passed beyond the father’s recall. The plaintiff’s father had paid the portion which he had agreed to give to his son, the defendant had paid and advanced the portion which he had agreed to give to his daughter, the farm had been purchased, and the money invested
It seems to me very clear that upon the undisputed evidence in this case, this bond belongs to the estate of the
If so, this judgment should be affirmed. . .
This action was tried before Mr. Justice Gould, without a jury, who found the following facts:
1. That the plaintiff is the administrator of his deceased wife, Eliza Halsted, daughter of the defendant.
2. The said Eliza was married to the plaintiff .on the 14th of March, 1849, and died on the 16th of December, 1855, leaving, her surviving, an infant daughter.
. 3. That the plaintiff being about to purchase, a farm, the defendant agreed with him to furnish him with the sum .of $1,509, to be used in the purchase thereof as an .advanced portion to his said daughter, and take the plaintiff ’s bond therefor.
4. That -in pursuance of such agreement the defendant did furnish such sum toward, the payment of such farm, and the same was paid thereon, and the plaintiff purchased the said farm and took the title in his own name; and thereupon the plaintiff-executed his . bond for. the. payment of the said sum of money.to Eliza Halsted, on. the 1st day of April, 1854, and on the same day delivered the same , to the defendant. •
5. That in December, 1854, the original bond, which had always remained in defendant’s possession, was delivered up to the plaintiff, Halsted, and destroyed by him; and a new bond, being the instrument described in the complaint, was executed by plaintiff to defendant, and delivered by plaintiff to the defendant with the assent of said Eliza,- and the same remained from that time, and still remains, in his,, the defendant’s, possession.
6. That said Eliza never requested or demanded, the assignment of said bond.
I. That after her death and the appointment of the. plaintiff as her administrator as aforesaid, the plaintiff, as such administrator as aforesaid, demanded of said defendant the assignment, and delivery of. the bond, which the.
1. That the bond in suit was the property of Eliza'Halsted, in her life-time.
2. That the plaintiff, as administrator of said Eliza, and as her personal representative, is entitled to the assignment and delivery to him from said defendant of said bond.
' 3. That the plaintiff, upon the facts proved and found by the court, is, as matter of law, entitled to the judgment demanded in the complaint, which was, that the bond be delivered up - to the plaintiff, and be canceled. Judgment was accordingly rendered for the plaintiff,- and the same on appeal was affirmed at General Term, except as to the cancellation of -said bond, and the defendant now appeals to this court. The plaintiff, as the administrator of the estate of his wife, was entitled, by virtue of his office, to take into his possession and receive all the personal estate belonging to his deceased wife at the time of her decease. As the judgment of the Special Term was modified by that of the General Term, no question is presented in reference to the cancellation of the bond, or as to its future disposition. The only question presented is whether the plaintiff was entitled to take and receive the same. This court is concluded by the facts, as found in the primary tribunal. It is well settled that we cannot review these findings, and therefore our only duty is to. ascertain whether the conclusions of law arrived at, founded upon them, are correct. As already observed, the administrator is entitled to take all the personal estate belonging to his wife at the time of her death. (Patterson v. Ellis, 11 Wend., 259.)
There would therefore seem to be but one fact to be ascertained, and that is, was this bond the property of Mrs. Halsted at the time of her death ? This inquiry is answered by the first finding of fact, by the court which tried the action, which is, that the bond in suit was the property of Mrs. Halsted in her life-time. The court was asked to find the converse of this proposition by the counsel for the defendant, and expressly refused so to find. There was an exception to
All concur.
Judgment affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- De Witt C. Halsted v. Jonas McChesney
- Status
- Published