147 Ga. 358 | Ga. | 1917
John Holbrook Estill died on November 9, 1907, leaving a will, the eighth item of which, so far as material here, is as follows: “To the Citizens & Southern Bank of Savannah one sixth part, which it shall hold as trustee upon the following uses and trusts, namely: to pay the income therefrom to my son Marion W. Estill, during the term of his natural life, for the support of himself and the support and education of his children should he
The court ordered the parties defendant to interplead. Elizabeth Pate Estill, guardian of Marian Virginia Estill, and Marian Virginia Estill by her guardian, filed answers setting up the claim of the minor to the trust fund, and praying that the trustee be directed to pay the income from the trust property to the guardian. M.aude Hill Scarborough, one of the defendants named, filed an answer in which she admitted some of the allegations' of the petition, and stated that she could neither admit nor deny others. By amendment, allowed over objection, she set up her claim to ah-interest in the trust fund. John H. Estill et al. filed, an answer in which they admitted all the allegations contained in each paragraph of the petition (one of which alleged that all the defendants claimed an interest in the trust fund); and afterward amended their answer to the petition for interpleader and averred, that “during the life of 'Marion W. Estill, realizing in the event he should die without issue said Elizabeth Pate Estill, his wife, would not receive any of the money or property coming from the estate of said John H. Estill, and that the same should revert in the manner mentioned and described in the petition for interpleader, the said Marion W. Estill and Elizabeth Pate Estill conspired to perpetrate a fraud by obtaining possession of a child whom they proclaimed to the world as theirs in order that the portion of the estate set apart for Marion W. Estill upon his death wduld not be entirely lost to Mrs. Elizabeth Pate Estill; that in pursuance of said fraudulent purpose said Marion -W. Estill and Elizabeth Pate Estill obtained possession of a child now known as Marian Virginia Estill, which child is not the child of said Marion W. Estill and Elizabeth Pate Estill; and the said Elizabeth Pate Estill, as the guardian of the said Marian Virginia Estill, is now seeking to claim said portion of said estate for said child. Walter Estill and Maude M. Hey (formerly Estill), as guardian of her three minor children, show to the court that it is absolutely necessary for the preservation of that portion of the estate rightfully belonging to them that an attorney should be employed to represent their interest in this litigation, and, in the event said child is -found to be not the child of Marion W. Estill and Elizabeth
It was further contended that the amendments to the answer came too late, and were not good because there was nothing to> amend by.- We can not agree to this contention. An amendment to the pleadings can be made at any time before, verdict; and as-the defendants had already answered in time the petition for interpleader, admitting its allegations, it can not be said that there was nothing tb amend by at a subsequent stage before verdict. Nor can it be said that the statements of fact contained in the answers of the movants' (which were verified) were not denied by-the answer of the defendants (which were also verified)', and' were
Judgment affirmed.