193 Ky. 490 | Ky. Ct. App. | 1921
Opinion op the Court by
Reversing.
This action was commenced in the Muhlenberg circuit court by B. A. Casebier, committee for his aged and infirm father, James W. Casebier, to obtain a sale of certain lands belonging to James W. Casebier, the cancellation of a certain deed made by the senior Casebier and wife to C. W. Smith, and for a full and final settlement of the estate of the plaintiff’s said ward. The judgment of the court granted practically all the. relief sought by the plaintiff and from this judgment Elizabeth E. Case-bier and Charles W. Smith appeal.
About the year 1899 the first wife of James W. Case-bier died, survived by her husband and five adult children. The next year Casebier married appellant, Elizabeth E. Casebier, which was her second matrimonial venture. At that time he was about sixty-five years of age and she about fifty. She went with him to live in his old homestead on a farm in Muhlenberg county. At that time he was. reasonably prosperous and owned a farm of 150 acres of land on which there were coal and timber, quite a lot of livestock, farming implements, household and kitchen furniture and provisions. ITis children were opposed to the wedding and they visited him only at great intervals after his marriage. About the time of the wedding Casebier suffered a severe injury to his person through an accident, which injury grew worse as the years passed until he became.unable to use his feet or legs. Before his physical condition became so bad the father and mother of Mrs. Casebier came to live with
A committee of an imbecile person may, by complying with section 2150, Kentucky Statutes, have a sale of his ward’s real property for the payment of his debts or for the maintenance of such person and his family if there is not enough personal estate or income to support him and it is indispensably necessary to sell such real property for one or more of the purposes named. Where it is not shown that the sale of such real property is indispensably necessary for one or more of the purposes named in the statute such sale will not be ordered by a
The commit! ee for an insane personmay avoid the contract of his ward if the contract be one to the disadvantage of the ward, but if the contract be one which a court of equity regards as advantageous and of lasting benefit to the ward no rescission or avoidance of the contract will be decreed if it is otherwise -enforcible.
If the Casebiers entered into an arrangement with Smith whereby Smith was to take them to his home, support, nourish, feed, clothe and take care of them for the remainder of their lives for a reasonable compensation to be found by a court and paid out of their estate after their death, it was a more advantageous contract than the one the committee has made for them. This would not be true if it were not for the fact that the entertainment and care furnished by Smith to the old people for the several months they remained with him were satisfactory to them and, as far as we can learn from the evidence, was all that could have been reasonably expected by any thoughtful person. While Smith may be a poor man and may find himself unable to carry out the contract, he cannot collect for services performed until after the services are rendered and then only a reasonable sum to be paid out of the estate. As it is admitted that the entire estate of the Casebiers does not exceed $2,000.00 in value a brief mathematical. calculation will disclose that at tlie cost of $400.00 per year for the entertainment of one of them, their entire estate will be exhausted very soon. It is said, however, in brief of counsel for appellees, that the old folks will be taken care of after their estate is exhausted without pay. This statement does not carry conviction in the face of the evidence showing that
After -a careful examination of the evidence and a study of the briefs of counsel, we have reached the conclusion that the trial court erred in entering a judgment against Smith for $375.00 for a one-half undivided interest in the farm which the Casebiers conveyed to him in consideration of his taking, care of Mrs. England. That contract was also advantageous to the Casebiers. Mr. Casebier was utterly unable to provide for Mrs. England according to his contract. Under such circumstances Mrs. England is the only person in position to complain of the transfer of the land to Smith and her home from that of the Casebiers to Smith, and. she is not a party to
Judgment reversed for proceedings consistent with this opinion.