27 Neb. 33 | Neb. | 1889
This was an application by the administrator of J. F. Woodruff to the district court, for license to sell real estate for the purpose of paying the debts against the estate of the owner at the time of his death. The facts, as stated by appellant in his brief, are substantially correct, and are as follows :
On the 11th day of September, 1884, appellee became the wife of J. F. Woodruff. On October 1, Woodruff purchased the premises in controversy, to-wit, lots ten and eleven in block four, in the town of Norfolk Junction, in Madison county, and with his family moved upon and occupied the premises in controversy, and was so occupying at the time of his death, which occurred October 24 of the same year. The property is worth about one thousand dollars. At the time of his death Woodruff owed Emma I. Furguson, the person from whom he purchased the premises, $320, being an unpaid portion of the purchase price. This debt was evidenced by a promissory note signed by Woodruff and his wife, the appellee herein. On
It is claimed that the real estate should be held liable for the payment of the debts of the estate of the decedent, and that the judgment of the district court should be x-e-versed on the ground that the x-emoval by appellee, subsequent to the death of her husband, was a forfeiture of her title to the premises. That is, that she abandoned the homestead, and the homestead character was thereby lost. This calls for an interpretation of sectioxx 17 of chapter 36' of the Comp. Stats., entitled Homesteads. The section under consideratioxx is as follows :
“Sec. 17. If the homestead was selected fx’om the separate property of either husband or wife, it vests, oxx the death of the person from whose property it was selected, in the survivor for life, aixd afterwards in his or her heirs forever, subject to the power of the decedent to dispose of the same, except the life estate of the survivor, by will. In either case it is xxot subject to the payment of any debt or liability contracted by or existing against the husband and wife, or either of them, previous to or at the time of' the death of such husband or wife, except such as exists or has been created under the provisions of this chapter.”
The conditions referred to as being such as xvould subject the homestead to sale are doubtless those mentioned in sec
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.