55 Md. 509 | Md. | 1881
delivered the opinion of the Court.
Under the agreement of parties, made in this Court, the only material questions presented by this appeal are the construction and validity of the deed of the 15th of May, 1869, executed by the appellant, Elmer Hewitt, Jr., to Amelia Smith, whom he subsequently married. The questions arise in this way: Elmer Hewitt, Sr. died in 1856, leaving a will by which he directed all his property to be sold by his executors and to be divided by them among seven of his children. In a part of the property his wife, Grace Hewitt, had a life estate, and the sale and division of this he directed should be made after her death. The executors named in the will refused to act and renounced the trust. Letters of administration with the will annexed were thereupon granted to the appellant and the widow. The appellant was a child of the testator but not one of the seven among whom the property was to be divided, but after his father’s death he purchased their shares from two of the seven. The widow died in September, 1818, and the appellant, the surviving administrator, refused to sell the property or to execute the trusts of the will. The other parties in interest, thereupon, in Decern
By this deed Elmer Hewitt, Jr., the grantor, in consideration of the sum of five dollars “doth grant and assign unto Amelia Smith, during her natural life,” certain described leasehold and other property not involved in this case, and “ also all his interest in the estate of Mrs. Grace Hewitt, who holds during her life, and, after her death, it becomes the absolute estate of the heirs-at-law, the said Elmer Hewitt, Jr., will be entitled to one-third interest in said estate,” habendum, “unto the said Amelia Smith during her natural -life, and from and immediately
1st. This conveyance appears to have been drawn with very little skill, but we have no great difficulty as to its construction and effect. It is unquestionably a deed inter vivos and not a will, and we think it is equally clear that it embraces the grantor’s interest in this property. The descriptive part above quoted, in our opinion, plainly refers to, and is quite sufficient to cover, all the interest the grantor had acquired by purchase in the property in which his mother held a life estate, and which upon her death his father’s will had directed should be divided among seven of his children. His obvious intent, as gathered from these words, was to convey all his interest in the estate held by his mother for her life, and there is no proof that he had any other property to which this language could be referred. To exclude the property in question from the operation of the deed would render this language wholly inoperative and infringe the rule that every deed shall be taken most strongly against the grantor. As to the estates it creates we have no doubt. That it gives in the first place a life estate to Amelia Smith is beyond dispute. Then in the habendum clause, an absolute estate, after her death, is given to the children subject to a life estate in the grantor. In other words the children take under this clause an absolute estate in remainder subject to the life estate of their father in case he should survive their mother. It is no objection to the estate in remainder to the children that they are not named in the premises, for it is well established and familiar law
2nd. But the validity of the deed is attacked upon several grounds, which we must now consider. In the first place, the appellant alleges he was non compos when it was executed, hy reason of excessive indulgence in intoxicating liquors. To sustain this objection it is incumbent upon him to produce clear and satisfactory proof that he was at the time in such a state of drunkenness as not to know what he was doing, or the consequences of his own acts. Johns vs. Fritchey, 39 Md., 258. We have carefully examined the testimony on this subject, and are of opinion that it fails to make out such a case as would justify the annulment of the deed on this ground. It is next said it was procured hy fraud, misrepresentation and undue influence. This, also, is purely a question of fact to be determined by the testimony in the record. The proof shows that, at the time this deed was executed, he was not married to Amelia Smith, but that they were then living together as man .and wife, and had so lived for many years; that he had three children by her, who were living at the date of the deed, and that they were lawfully married within one or two years thereafter. There is no proof whatever that any fraud was practiced, or misrepresentation made to, or undue influence in fact exerted upon him, by this woman, who afterwards became his lawful wife, to induce him to execute this instrument. All that is said upon this subject by the appellant himself is that, during his sickness, she was anxious for him to make a deed or will — he does not recollect which; that his mother and nephew were also anxious he should provide for his offspring in case of his death; that his mother advised him to execute the paper, for the benefit of the woman and the children in the event of his death, but did .not insist upon
The character and conduct of the appellant, as disclosed by the testimony, his treatment of this woman, as well before and after the execution of the deed, as the marriage make it impossible for us to believe that she ever acquired any influence over him, or in fact exerted any towards the procurement of this conveyance.
Lastly, it is objected that the deed was not drawn by the conveyancer in accordance with the instructions he received, and it was therefore executed in mistake. This presents the only question of any difficulty in the case. It seems from the testimony of the appellant that he wanted the deed so drawn that he could have the power during his life of selling the whole property, and that he would not have signed it if he had not supposed, and if it
3rd. A question of equity practice has also been relied on. The appellant contends that the proceedings subsequent to the decree must be the same as in a creditors’ suit, and that his wife and his children, who are minors, should have presented their claim by next friends, and could not present it in their own right. But the answer to this is, that the deed was filed in the cause as an exhibit with the petition, and the Court is required, by the section of the Code under which the decree was passed, to see that the proceeds of sale were applied to the parties entitled, or the purposes intended by the will. With this deed thus in the cause, and thus brought to its attention, both by the petition and the answer of the appellant, the Court was bound to recognize its provisions, and not allow the proceeds to which he would otherwise be entitled to be distributed to the appellant, unless he could get rid of his own conveyance.
Order affirmed, and cause remanded.