Stembel v. Martin
Stembel v. Martin
Opinion of the Court
In the Stembel case, the question arises in an action brought by the administrators of M. Touise Deshler, in which they ask the direction of the court, in making distri
In the other case, the question is made in an action for the partition of real estáte of which Margaretta Stone died seized. Silas S. Stone, it appears, died intestate, and without issue, February the 18th, 1884. He had acquired the land, the partition of which was sought in the action, by purchase, and died seized of the same. Margaretta, his widow, died without issue and intestate, January the 21st, 1892, possessed of the land. The plaintiffs in the partition suit, are the children of the only brother of the whole blood of Silas S. Stone, the brother being dead, and there being no sisters of the whole blood or their representatives. The plaintiffs claim they became the owners of one-half of the land upon the death of Margaretta, and her brothers and
The question thus presented by each of these cases, must find its solution in the statutes regulating the descent and distribution of the estates of deceased persons, in force when the estates vested.
When Deshler and his widow died, the act of March 14, 1853, as amended April 17, 1857, and the supplemental act of April 11, 1877 ( 74 Ohio Laws, 81), were in force. After-wards, and before the death of Stone and his widow, the statutes were amended in some particulars, but not so as to' affect the question in hand. The provisions of the statutes, so far as they are deemed material to the decision of the question, are: Sections 1 and 2 of the act of March 14, 1853, as amended by the act of April 17, 1857 (S. & C., 501): Section 4 of the act of March 14,1853, and the supplemental act of April 11, 1877. The provisions of sections 1 and 2, which affect the question, are as follows:
“ Section 1. That when any person shall die intestate, having title or right to any real estate or inheritance in this state, which title shall have come to such intestate, by descent or devise, or deed of gift from any ancestor, such estate shall descend and pass in parcenary, to his or her kindred, in the following course:
“ First—To the children of such intestate, or their legal representatives ;
“ Second—If there be no children or their legal representatives living, the estate shall pass to and vest in the husband or wife, relict of such intestate during his or her natural life;
“ Third—If such intestate leave no husband or wife, relict of himself or herself, or at the death of such relict, the estate shall pass to and vest in the brothers and sisters of the intestate who may be of the blood of the ancestor*517 from whom the estate came, or their legal representatives, whether such brothers and sisters be of the whole or half blood of the intestate.”
“ Section 2. That if the estate came not by descent, devise or deed of gift, it shall descend and pass as follows:
“ First—To the children of the intestate and their legal representatives;
“ Second—If there be no children or their legal representatives, the estate shall pass to and be vested in the husband or wife, relict of such intestate ;
“ Third—If such intestate leave no husband or wife relict of himself or herself, the estate shall pass to the brothers and sisters of the intestate of the whole blood and their legal representatives.
“Fourth—If there be no brothers or sisters of the intestate of the whole blood, or their legal representatives, the estate shall pass to the brothers and sisters of the half blood and their legal representatives.”
The other provisions of these two sections, are not deemed important in the decision of the question.
Section 4 of the act of March 14, 1853, provides, that “ If any person shall die intestate, leaving any goods, chattels, or other personal estate, such goods, chattels, or other personal estate shall' be distributed agreeably to the foregoing course, prescribed in the second section of this act, saving, however, such right as any widow may have to any portion of such personal estate.”
The supplemental act of April 11, 1877, is as follows :
“ An act supplementary to the act entitled ‘An act regulating descents and the distribution of personal estates,’ passed March 14, 1853 (S. & C. 501), and to the various acts amendatory thereof.
“ Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That when any person, the relict of any deceased husband or wife, shall die intestate and without issue, possessed of any real estate, or personal property, which came to such intestate from any former deceased husband or wife, under the provisions of the second section of this act, to which this act is supplementary, then such*518 estate, real and personal, shall pass and descend, one-half to the brothers and sisters of such intestate, or their legal representatives, and one half to the brothers and sisters of such deceased husband or wife from which such personal or real estate came, or their personal representatives.
“Section 2. This act shall take effect from and after its passage.”
These several statutory provisions are now embraced in sections 4158, 4159, 4162, and 4163, of the Revised Statutes. The act of 1857 was construed in Brower v. Hunt, 18 Ohio St., 311. It was there claimed, that property which had come from a deceased husband to his widow, under section two of that act, descended,- upon her decease without issue and intestate, as ancestral property, under section one, to the brothers and sisters of the deceased husband. It was held, however, that her brothers and sisters inherited, under the provisions of section two, the whole of the property she had so received from the estate of her husband. The apparent or supposed hardship and injustice resulting from the statutes, according to that interpretation, gave rise, no doubt, as counsel on both sides maintain, to the supplemental act of 1877. And three distinct views are advanced with respect to that act. One is, that its purpose was to place one-half of such property in the category of ancestral estates, and send it through the same channel of descent. Another, that it prescribes a new and independent rule of succession to the property, complete in itself, under which brothers and sisters of the whole and half blood take as one class. And the other, that the act should be construed in connection with the statutes to which it is supplementary, leaving operative all their provisions, except as changed or abrogated by it; and when so construed, each moiety of the property, it is claimed, descends to the brothers and sisters of the deceased husband or wife, and those of the relict, respectively, in accordance with the provisions of section tw^o of the act of 1857—now, section 4159, of the Revised Statutes.
The argument in support of the first of these propositions, is based chiefly on the decision in Brower v. Hunt,
The act undoubtedly establishes a new line of succession, in that, it divides into two equal parts, the property which before its enactment went entirely to the brothers ánd sisters of the intestate relict, and transmits one to the brothers and sisters of the former deceased husband or wife; but it prescribes no express rule as to how the brothers and sisters shall take. All real property, under our statutes of descent, is embraced within the two classes, ancestral, and non-ancestral, and the distribution of personal estates is according to the course prescribed for the descent of non-ancestral real property. -Section 1, of the act of 1857, expressly provides, that when brothers and sisters succeed, under its provisions, to ancestral property, they shall so take it, whether they “ be of the whole or half blood of the intestate.” And by the express provisions of section 2, non-ancestral property passes first to brothers and sisters of the whole blood, and only when there are none of that class, to those of the half blood. The supplemental act, has not, in express terms, provided in which of these two ways broth■ers and sisters shall take the property descending under its provisions. It is contended that, as the terms it has em
In Brcnver v. Hunt supra, the court, in reaching the conclusion that the second section of the act of 1857 provided for all cases of descent not included in the first section, supplied certain words in the second section, which it was thought -were necessary to give complete expression to the legislative intention, as derived from a consideration of both sections. In the opinion, White, J., says: “The second section was intended to provide for all cases not included in the first. The descriptive words of the section are, ‘ if the estate came not by descent, devise or deed of gift;’ yet they have alwaj'S been regarded as embracing a devise or deed of gift from a stranger. Brewster v. Benedict, 14 Ohio, 385; Penn v. Cox, 16 Ohio, 31; Birney v. Wilson et al., 11 Ohio St., 427. The meaning is, ‘if the es
It is first insisted that section two of the act of 1857, has no application to personal property, but merely regulates the descent of non-ancestral real estate; and, though section four of the act of 1853, prescribes the same course for
Considering these statutory provisions together, there is little difficulty in giving them a construction which makes them consistent, and effectuates the manifest intention of the legislature. The act of 1877 is, itself, a legislative interpretation of the statutes in force at the time of its enactment, to the effect, that the personal estate of the deceased husband or wife, who died intestate and without issue, came to the relict under section two of the act of 1857. And unless it is so held, the purpose of the supplemental act is, partially at least, defeated. It may be that, in a technical sense, personalty does not pass under section two. But it passes by virtue of the provisions of section four, in accordance with the rules of descent established by section two; and, in that sense, it comes to the relict from his or her former husband or wife “ under the provisions ” of the latter section. And it seems clear, that such was the sense in which the supplemental act uses the words, “ under the second section of the act to which this act is supplementary.” This construction is not inconsistent with section 180, of the administration act. That section regulates the distribution of the personal estate by the administrator. It provides that the widow shall be entitled to all the personal estate which shall be subject to distribution upon settlement of the estate, if the deceased left no child who could inherit, and if there be such child, then to a part only, upon the distribution. It does not appear inconsistent to hold, that the widow may come to the personal property of her deceased husband under section two, that is, according to the rules of descent prescribed by that section, and be entitled to receive it from the administrator upon distribu
It is well settled that the course of descent of real estate, is controlled by the legal title; and when the legal and •equitable title unite in the same person, the latter becomes merged in the former, and does not descend separately. The legal title draws to it the whole estate, and carries it in the same channel of descent as if the equitable estate had never existed. It follows, that the Kellogg farm descended from Margaretta, as real estate which had come to her from her husband, under section 4159, of the Revised Statutes.
There is no error in the judgmeril of the circuit court on that questioji, and the j^ldgme)lt in that respect is affirmed. But that co2irt erred, we think, in holding that the brothers and sisters of the half blood of Silas S. Stone, or their representatives, were entitled to share in the partition; and that part of its jtidgment is reversed, and the cause remanded, with instructions to sustain the demurrer to their answer and cross-petitiofi, and for partition as prayedfor by the plaintiffs helow. The judgment in the Stembel case is affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
(dissenting). I cannot concur in this opinion. It gives to the plain language of section 4162, Revised Statutes, a construction, that is, in my opinion, without any
This section does not refer to section 4159 for the mode of descent, but for the mode in which the property had been acquired, and, for property so acquired, fixes, the descent by language of its own, that is plain and unambiguous; for the words, “ brothers and sisters,” have in law a definite meaning; they include brothers and sisters of the half, as well as of the whole, blood. On a mere conjecture that the legislature meant that the property should go according to-the rules fixed by the section under which it had been acquired by the deceased relict, the court has rejected the plain meaning of the words adopted in the section fixing its descent, and substituted the language of the former section; that is to say, the section fixing the descent of non-ancestral property, although, as a matter of fact, the legislature treats it as quasi ancestral property, in sending one-half of it back to the brothers and sisters of the deceased consort from whom the estate* came. We fail to appreciate the suggestion of counsel that this interpretation is more in accordance with the sentiments of natural affection. That the rules of descent are, as a general rule, adopted in analogy to the natural affections, is true. But what ground is-there for saying that this must have been the principle upon which the provisions of section 4162 were adopted in providing for a descent of property from an intestate relict to the brothers and sisters of the deceased consort from whom the estate came. In such case there is supposed to be no blood relationship whatever; so that there is no ground for assuming that such deceased relict, the person who died possessed of the property, would perfer brothers and sisters of the whole, to brothers and sisters of the half
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.