Theobald v. Fugman
Theobald v. Fugman
Opinion of the Court
Two questions arise upon the record: (a) Are the bequests for religious and charitable purposes, and the residuary devise in the will, void as against the rights of Frank and Katie Margaretha Fugman, the will having been executed within one year of the testatrix’s decease? (b) Are the general legacies a lien and charge on the real estate, there being no personal property, and no provision in the will making such legacies a direct charge upon the real- estate?
The elaborate and very learned arguments of the counsel invite an extended discussion of these questions. But, while they are important, they appear to us, in view of previous holdings, not difficult of solution, and may with propriety be treated briefly. Indeed but little more is required than a statement of the conclusions to which the court has arrived.
1. In a word, if Frank Fugman and Katie Margaretha Fugman stand with respect to this property the same as though they were heirs of the body of the testatrix, then the charitable and religious bequests and the residuary devise, are, as to them, void. It Avas the opinion of the courts below, and is contended here, that they do sustain that position. This conclusion, it is claimed, results from a proper construction of sections 4182 and 5915 of the Revised Stat-
“Section 4182. [Heir at law; how designated, etc.] A person of sound mind and memory may appear before the probate judge of his county, and in the presence of such judge and two disinterested.persons of his or her acquaintance, file a written declaration, subscribed by him, which declaration shall be attested by such disinterested persons, declaring that, as his or her free and voluntary act, he or she did designate and appoint another, naming and stating the place of residence of such person specifically, to stand toward him or her in the relation of an heir at law in the event of his or her death; thereupon the judge, if satisfied that such declarant is of sound mind and memory, and free from any restraint, shall enter that fact upon his journal, and make a complete record of such proceedings; thenceforward the person thus designated shall be deemed and held to stand.in the same relation, for all purposes, to such declarant as he or she could, if a child born in lawful wedlock; and a certified copy of such record shall be prima facie evidence of the fact stated therein, and conclusive evidence, unless impeached for actual fraud, or undue influence.”
The latter, which was enacted in 1874, is as follows :
“Section 5915. [Any bequest or devise to charitable purposes, if any issue of testator living, void, unless made one year before his death.] • If any testator die leaving issue of his body, or an adopted child, living, or the legal representative of either, and the will of such testator give, devise, or bequeath the estate of such testator, or any part thereof, to any benevolent, religious, educational, oí charitable purpose, or to-*480 this state or (to) any other state or country, or to any county, city, village, or other corporation or association in this or any other state or county, or to any person in trust for any of such purposes, or municipalities, corporations, or associations, whether such trust appears on the face of the instrument making such gift, devise, or bequest or not; such will as to such gift, devise or bequest, shall be invalid unless such will shall have been executed according to law, at least one year prior to the decease of such testator.”
The latter section is an amendment to the wills act. The provisions of statute relating to wills, and authorizing and recognizing the right to make the same, had their origin at the formation of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, and of which the present state of Ohio is a part, in the year 1787, by provision of the ordinance for the government of that territory. The first section of that memorable document (1 Laws of Northwest Territory, 3), provides that, until the governor and judges adopt laws on the subject, estates in the territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, duly signed, sealed and witnessed. Conformably to the authority given in the ordina.nct the governor and judges of the territory, June 19, 1795 (same vol., 148), at Cincinnati, adopted from the Pennsylvania code and published, a law concerning the probate of wills, written or nuncupative, and providing for the execution, proof, and record of the same. This remained in force until 1805, when, on January 5, of that year, (3 O. L., 173), the first general assembly of the state enacted the first state law on the subject entitled “An act directing the manner of executing, proving and recording wills and codicils,” and recognizing the right of competent persons
The legal effect of the word “issue” was considered by this court in Phillips v. McConica, 59 Ohio St., 1. In that case one Madden died leaving a will by which he made a bequest to one Wilbert McConica. This legatee died after the making of the will but before the decease of the testator. During his life he (the
It is difficult to perceive any real difference, in legal effect, between the language of the quotation given above, from section 3140, arid the clause declaring the status of designated heirs found in section
The further consideration of the several sections referred to makes this conclusion clear. Both sections 3140 and 4182 were in force, and had been for years, when section 5915 was adopted. The legislature thus found, besides blood relations capable of inheriting from an ancestor, two classes having certain statutory rights of inheritance, viz.: adopted children and designated heirs. With these two conditions before the law makers they chose to expressly include within the effect of section 5915 one of those classes and omit the other. If we apply the well known rule of construction e.rpressio imius est exelusio alterius. the inevitable result is that designated heirs are not within the. statute. Other considerations tend to the same conclusion, but we content ourselves with those stated. We hold that heirs designated under favor of section 4182 are not within the purview of section 5915. It follows that, in holding, as the circuit court did,, that the legacies set forth in items 6, 7, 8, 19, 20 and 22 are invalid under section 5915, Revised Statutes, that court erred.
2. The circuit court held that the. legacies mentioned in items 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21,are valid money legacies, and were intended to be charged upon the real estate, and are valid liens thereon. This holding is complained of as erroneous by the cross-petition in error of Frank and Katie Margaretha Fugman. A controlling fact bearing upon the effect to be given these items of the will is that the testatrix had, at the time of the mak
It is further contended by plaintiff in error that a petition to quiet title is not the proper action to determine the questions which arise upon the admitted facts of the case. We do not find it necessary to consider the proposition.
The judgment of the circuit court will be reversed as to its holding respecting items 6, 7, 8, 19, 20 and 22 of the will, and otherwise affirmed.
Reversed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.