83 Md. 355 | Md. | 1896
delivered the opinion of the Court.
This is an appeal from an order of the Circuit Court of Baltimore City, directing the appellant bank to transfer and deliver to the appellee, trustee, for the purpose of a sale, certain stock which had formerly belonged to the estate of William Kden, and which the Court had decreed to be sold by the said trustee. By the first paragraph in the will of William Piden this stock was bequeathed to Mrs. Emma Reid for life, and at her death to be “ divided equally among her children, the child or children of any deceased child to represent their said parents’ interest only,” and in the event of her death without leaving children the testator directed
In May, 1895, a bill to which Mrs. Reid and her descendants, the other children of William Eden and their descendants, and the executors of William Eden, are parties, was filed, in which it is substantially alleged, that certain leasehold property (included in the first clause of William Eden’s will) was so dilapidated and decayed that it was necessary to prevent the entire loss of the improvements thereon, for a receiver to be appointed to take charge of it, and to make the necessary expenditures to restore it to a tenantable condition ; and that the only source from which the funds requisite for this purpose could be obtained was from the sale of bank stock ; and that for other reasons stated, it would be for the benefit and advantage of all parties interested, either, that such sale should be made, and so much of the proceeds thereof as was necessary should be applied to the making of such expenditures ; or, that the houses on Parrish alley be sold. On 5th June, 1895, the Court decreed the stock to be sold for the purpose of making the improvements,' and of reinvesting the residue of the proceeds of the'sale ; and in the event there should be no market for the stock, &c., that the real property should be sold ; and appointed the appellee, trustee, to make the sale of the stock and of the leasehold property.
On 10th October, 1895, the appellee filed a petition to the Court, alleging that the appellant had in its keeping the certificate representing the stock in question, that the petitioner had demanded possession thereof; but the baiik declined to deliver it, stating “ it had obtained possession thereof from Emma E. Reid, the life tenant, who had herself obtained the same from the executors under said will,” and that the bank held it as “ collateral security for a payment of a personal obligation due by the said Emma E. Reid and two of her children to said bank ; ’ ’ the petitioner
The counsel for the appellants in his brief presented but two points for our decision : 1st. That the Court had no jurisdiction to pass the decree. 2nd. That the allegations in the bill were not sufficient to justify a sale of the stock in question for the purpose of putting improvements upon other property, which prima facie does not pay expenses. At the argument the only contention pressed upon us was that persons, not now in being, might hereafter become interested in the stock, and the decree of the Court could not bind them, so that the bank should be relieved from liability to them, they not having been made parties. • As this contention seems to concede the validity of the decree, so as to bind all who are parties, we shall only consider the question whether in the present state of the case, parties not yet in being, are represented in such a manner as to be bound by the proceedings.
Under the will of Wm. Eden, Emma E. Reid took a life estate in the property mentioned in the second paragraph of the will, with vested remainders to her children, subject to
Upon the death of the testator, however, all the property mentioned in the second clause of the will passed to the executors, and the title thereof vested in them from that period, Dempsey v. McNally, 73 Md. 433 ; and so remains, unless by some act of theirs, or by operation of law, they have parted with it. Rockwell v. Young, 60 Md. 566.
Now, the only distribution made by the executors was that contained in their first account. There, they are allowed for “ the following, passed over and delivered to the legatees and devisees mentioned, &c.,” and then follows : “ To Emma E. Reid,” the property mentioned in che second clause of the will, including the 'stock in question. It further appears that the only assignment made by them of the stock,-was to Mrs. Reid “for life only,” so that it would seem, that while the life interest was transferred to Mrs. Reid, the title to the remainder continues in the executors, and is still undistributed. In Woelfel v. Evans, 74 Md. 347, a married woman died intestate, leaving a husband and five children surviving her. Letters of administration were granted to the husband. • In his account he claimed and received an allowance for the “ balance of the estate retained by him as the surviving husband and tenant for life, with remainder to his children,” etc. This Court held the distribution was incomplete and that the Orphans’ Court had authority to order a sale of the property, “ for purposes of final distribution.” In Smith v. Doe, 33 Md. 443, a testator bequeathed certain leasehold property to his wife for life, and, after her death, to her son for life, and, then to an illegitimate son absolutely. The wife as sole executrix paid all the debts of the estate, and took possession of the property absolutely, without having made any other transfer,
It follows from what we have said that the decree appealed from must be affirmed.
Decree affirmed.