55 F. 783 | U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Northern Ohio | 1893
Before taking up tbe exceptions of tbe defendant Brooks, trustee, to tbe master’s report as amended,, and filed herein May 4, 1892, it is proper to consider tbe question which is again strenuously urged on behalf of tbe respondents,— whether, under tbe will of Robert Hanna, deceased, tbe defendants Cassius B. Hanna and wife, Hattie L., or either of them, acquired any such beneficial interest or trust estate as can be reached and subjected by complainant to the payment of bis judgment against them. Tbe court has heretofore, in an opinion filed herein June 11, 1891,
“lien 7. I hereby authorize and direct my executor, as soon as convenient after my death, and in case my son, Cassius, shall so request, to purchase a home for Mm, at a cost not to exceed $12,000, taking the title to himtfeix os executor aiul trustee, an aforesaid; the same to be kept, as and for a, homo for Cassius, free of rent, so long as he desires so to occupy the same. But in the final settlement of my estate, as hereinafter provided. I direct that the money expended by my executor in insurance, taxes, and assessments on the homo so occupied by Cassius, together with six por cent, interest per annum on -¡lio eoet of said home for ilie time it siuli be so occupied by him, shall be deducted from the amount that is to be paid to Cassius or his children, ¿is is heroin;-, if or provided, or, if my said executor shall deem it best to deduct the amount of said annual insurance, taxes, assessments, and Interest from the annual income that is to he paid to Cassius or his children, as hereinafter provided, ho is hereby authorized and directed to do so.
“Item 8. So far as the same is practicable in conformity with the other provisions of this will, X desire the income of my estate each year to he applied as follows: First, to the payment of taxes, insurance, assessments, and repulir. that may be levied or become necessary to be made on any part of my estate, together with the necessary expenses of the administration of the same, including the compensation hereinafter provided to be paid to my executor; secondly, to the payment of the annuity of §2,000 hereinbefore provided for my wife. He met A. Hanna; thirdly, after tile payment of all the items hereinafter mentioned. X desire the remainder of the yearly income or increase of my estate that shall be collected and received to bo divided into two equal parts, one part, to be expended by my said executor for the benefit oí my son Cassius, and his family, so long as lie, Cassius, shall live, or, in case my said executor shall deem it proper and best, but in no event otherwise, lw maj pay the whole or any jjart of such portion of the yearly net income of niy estate (subject to the deductions as above provided for taxes, etc.) to my son, Cassius, in cash. The other of said equal parts into which the net yearly income of my catato is to be divided as provided in this section I direct my said executor to expend for the benefit, of the children of my deceased daughter Arrial T. 'Whiincro. in such manner that each of said children shall have an equal and the same portion with the oilier, in ease any oí Slid children of my daughter .trriai should, die wit''out issue before the final division of my estate, then i]m share of the income of my estate of snc.li child or children so dying shall be divided between the other children of my daughter Arrial, or the issue of Diem, — they, in such case, to take per stirpes, and not per capita; and in case any of the said children of my daughter Arrial should die before the final distribution of iny estate, leaving issue, 1 direct that the share-of the income of my estate which would be coming to such child of Arrial if living; shall bo paid io the issue of such child, share and islumo alike, and 1 hereby authorize my executor to pay in cash, if he shall deem bom. the whole or any port of such share of the income of my estate a; may be due to each of Uto children of m.v daughter Arrial, as aforesaid; he to take in such case lhe receipt of the guardian or other person who for the time being may im charged with the care or custody of said children, or ('idler of them, for any payment made. And in the expenditure of income for Die benefit of my sou, Cassim', and his family, as well as for the children of my daughter Arrial, I desire my executor to have in vie-w the maintenance and education of my grandchildren on a scale comporting with their condition and rank in life; and if, In the judgment of my said executor, the net an mi» 1 Income of my enlate as above dosel ¡bed cannot all bo properly and judiciously expended or advanced to Causan ¡oíd his family and to the children of Atrial as hereinbefore described. 1 authorize and direct my executor to invent such surplus as may remain a Tier wh» Í ho deems a reasonable expenditure hue been made for the benefit of" The child or grandchild, who would bo entitled !o it. under the foregoing plan of distribution.”
“In order to settle distinctly and make forever free from dispute that portion of item 8 of my said will wliicli relates to the division and distribution of the annual net income of my estate, I hereby declare it to be my wish and will, and I do hereby accordingly direct, that the one half of said yearly net income which is to be expended for the benefit of my son, Cassius, and his family, is to be expended for his benefit only, until the time arrives when the fiual distribution of my estate shall be made under the provisions of said will, and to this extent are the words in said will directing said portion of income to be expended for his benefit, ‘so long as he, Cassius, shall live,’ to be modified and controlled; also the one half of said annual income which is to be expended for the benefit of Cassius, as aforesaid, shall, until expended or otherwise disposed of as provided in said item, be held and kept by my said executor in his possession in trust, to the end that the same may be applied as my said- executor shall deem best, and not otherwise, for the benefit of my son, Cassius, and his family; also that any portion of said share of income which may be invested for the benefit of Cassius shall likewise be held and kept in his own possession, in trust by my said executor, the same to be expended for Cassius’ benefit, or paid him at such times and in such amounts as he, my said executor, may deem best, and not otherwise.”
By the third item of the codicil the final, distribution of the estate, if not sooner made, under the power’s conferred by the will is directed to be made “as soon as may be after the death of my son, Cassius, provided at that time the youngest child of my daughter Arrial then living shall have reached the age of majority;” and by the fifth item of said codicil it is declared that, “in the event of my son, Cassius, should have no children living nor. grandchildren living at the time of the final distribution of my estate, as provided in my said will, I direct my executor to retain in his own custody and possession one half of the whole estate as it may then exist, and Izold the same in trust so long as Cassius may live, giving to Cassius so much of the annual net income of said one half as he may deem best, and at the death of Cassius said one half of my estate so retained and held to be by said executor distributed per stirpes among the children and grandchildren of my daughter Arrial.”
On the final distribution of the principal or corpus of the estate the children of Cassius then livizzg and the children of the daughter Arrial or their issue were to share therein equally after equalizing advancements made to their respective parents by the testator. There has been no final distribution or division of the principal of the* estate, and it is not material to the present case to determine when such division could or shozzld be made by the executor, the son, Cassius, being still alive, and the youngest child of the testator’s daughter not attaining Izis majority until September 17, 1894. While the will gives to the executor the amplest and most complete discretionary powers in the management and control of the estate, and invests him with full authority to rent, sell, or improve the whole or any part thereof, real or personal, and to invest, and from time to time reinvest, in such manner and in such property, either real or personal, as he may deem best to do, the same as the testator could do if living. Certain trusts are created and impressed upon the net annual income or incomes of the estate during the life of Cassius, or until the final distribution is made of the
This expressed desire was manifestly not intended to cut down or restrict the trust in favor of the said grandchildren to one for maintenance and education, but was merely suggested as a consid eraiion to be borne in mind by the trustee in making advancement
Tiie person or persons entitled to this unexpended and uninvested surplus of the accrued income, or to such, income as may hereafter accrue, until the final division of the estate, presents a question of some difficulty. The complainant insists that Cassius is the sole beneficiary. The respondents contend that the “family” of Cassius share equally with him in ihe trust fund. If Hattie L. Hanna, the wife of Cassius, is entitled to a beneficial interest in said income trust, her share thereof would be equally liable with that of Cassius, she being equally bound by the judgment sought to be enforced. I am, however, of the opinion after careful consideration of the matter, that the wife of Cassius takes no beneficial interest or share
In Pigg v. Clarke, 3 Ch. Div. 672, it was said by the master of the rolls that “every word which has more than one meaning has a primary meaning; and if it has a primary meaning you want a context to find another. What, then, is the primary meaning of ‘family?’ It is ‘children.’ That is clear upon the authorities which have been cited, and, independently of them, I should have come to the same conclusion.”
In the present case it may be assumed that Oassius and his children were, equally with the children of the deceased daughter Arrial, the objects of the testator’s bounty. The provisions of the ninth item of the will and fifth item of the codicil indicate that the children of Cassius were the beneficiaries intended by the term “family,” rather than the wife and children.- They come within the expressed desire of the testator that the trustee, in the expenditure of the trust fund, should have in view the maintenance and education of the grandchildren on a scale comporting with their their condition and rank in life. Cassius’ children are so far implied, if not express, objects of the testator’s bounty, that, if the entire trust fund were paid over or received by him, a court of equity would treat and consider him a subtrustee for their benefit to the extent of a fair proportion of the fund, under the principle laid down in Chase v. Chase, 2 Allen, 101; Perry, Trusts, §§ 117, 118, and cases cited. The children of Cassius being cobeneficiaries with him, of the trust fund, it is claimed that there can be no apportionment thereof, so' as to give him or his creditors any definite or separate portion thereof. It is, however, well settled that a court of equity can, and will in cases like the present, apportion the trust fund. Perry, Trusts, § 118; Nichols v. Eaton, 91 U. S. 723, and cases cited.
How the trust fund in question should be divided between Cassius and his children is a matter not free from doubt or difficulty, but, taking an equitable view of it, the apportionment should be made between them so as to assign or allot one half thereof to Cassius and one half to his children; thus making Cassius’ share from the net yearly income of the estate one fourth of the whole.
It is further urged that the trust fund here under consideration is to go for the support of the designated beneficiaries, and that Oassius’ interest therein cannot be subjected to the payment of his
‘‘Therefore, when an equitable Interest is mentioned in the cestui quo trust, ho may dispose of it, or it may pass to bis assignee by operation oí law, if bo become a bankrupt. Thus a trust for a person's support, or to pay Lite interest to a person for life, as the trustee may think proper, or when it shall become payable, or in such sums or portions, and at such times and in such manner as the trustee may think best, may bo exercised according to the direction of the trustees, but the bankruptcy oí the cestui que trusts puts an end to the discretion of the trustees, and vests Uto whole Interest in HUo assignees; and this is so where the trustees wore directed to pay as they should think proper, and at their will and pleasure, and not otherwise, so that tho cestui que trust should have 310 light, claim, or demand other than the trustees should think proper.”
The court thought in Snowdon v. Dales, 6 Sim. 524, that, taking the whole instrument together, the cestui que trust has a vested interest; that those directions applied only to the. manner of enjoyment, and that the equitable interest vested in the assignee at Ms bankruptcy. The test is: Would exec a tors of the cestui que trust have a. right to call for any arrears? If so, the assignees would have the right to call for the future income or interest. This is directly applicable to the present case. There is a further consideration and distinction on this subject pointed out by the coart in Slattery v. Wason, 151 Maas. 266, 23 N. E. Rep. 843, where it is said:
“When the whole income or a definite sum is given the beneficiary for Ms support, the whole belongs to him, and is to be applied by him at Ms discretion, and the expression, of tho purpose for which it is given is not deemed to be the expression of an intention that tho right to secure it shall not be inalienable; but when tho right given is for the support out of a fund which is given to another, the right is in its nature inalienable, and the intention of the donor that it shall not be alienable is presumed.”
What is meant by this latter clause is that when a fund Is given, not to a trustee, but to any person beneficially, and is charged with. Hie support of another, the latter’s interest is presumably inalienable. Thus in Baker v. Brown, 146 Mass. 369, 15 N. E. Rep. 783, the testatrix gave her estate to daughters, “subject to the condition that they should support their father during Ms lifetime.” It was held that under the circumstances of that case the intention of the testatrix was that the daughters should furnish the father with a reasonable support in their own household or elsewhere, the mode of Ms support being in their discretion, and that the interest of the father was such that it could not be reached by his creditors
The general doctrine laid down in Perry, Trusts, §§ 286, 286a, and in 2 Story, Eq. Jur. §§ 974, 974a, following the English rule announced in Brandon v. Robinson, 18 Ves. 429, that alienability and the consequent liability for debts is an inseparable incident attaching to any vested beneficial interest or trust estate in the absence of limitations over, or for other provisions for the lessor of such interest in such event, has no doubt been qualified or departed from by many courts in this country to the extent of holding that a party may settle property on another or for another’s benefit in such a manner that it cannot be alienated or passed to assignees so as to be reached by creditors, even when there is no provision that the interest shall cease and determine upon the happening of such contingency, nor any limitation over. Thus it is said in Spar-hawk v. Cloon, 125 Mass. 263, that—
“The rule in England, since the time of Lord Eldon, has provided that when income of a trust estate is given to any person (other than a married woman) for life, the equitable estate for life is alienable by, and liable in equity to, the debts of the cestui que trust, and that this quality is so inseparable from the estate that no provision, however expressed, which does not operate as to lessor or limitation of the estate or interest itself, can protect it from his debts, Iciting Brandon v. Robinson, 18 Ves. 429; Bramhall v. Fetris. 14 N. Y. 41 — 44; and Nichols v. Levy, 5 Wall. 433.] On the other hand, it has been maintained by the courts of recognized authority that the founder of a trust may secure the enjoyment of it to other persons, the object of his bounty, by providing that it shall not, be alienable by them, or to subject it to be taken by this condition; and that his intention in this regard, when clearly expressed by him, must be carried out by the court, even though there is no cessor or limitation over.”
In Bank v. Adams, 133 Mass. 170, it was held that a person having the entire right to dispose of property may settle it in trust in favor of another with the provision that the income shall not be alienated by the beneficiary by anticipation, or be subject to be taken by his creditors in advance of its payment to him, although there is no cessor or limitation over the fund or estate in such an event. In Foster v. Foster, 133 Mass. 179, 180, the will provided that “the trustees may, at their discretion, pay or apply the income of the fund to the personal benefit or comfort of the son, or such member or members of his immediate family as the trustees may think proper, and that such income shall not be subject to his [the son’s] debts, or assignable by him by way of anticipation;” and it was held that the son had no such interest as could be reached by his creditors. That case is too clearly distinguishable from the present to require further notice. It certainly does not sustain the contention that the share of Cassius of the trust fund under consideration cannot be reached by complainant. Maynard v. Cleaves, 149 Mass. 307, 21 N. E. Rep. 376, more nearly approaches the present. There the testator gave to his wife, during her life, the income of all bis estate, “to be for her comfort and support,” and expressing the wish that she should provide for an unmarried daughter, and that a “home and grounds” be kept “as a home for them.” After the death of the daughter, creditors of the beneficiary were allowed
“It is settled in this commonwealth that a testator wTho maltes a gift of Income to a beneficiary may provide that it shall not be alienable in advance by him. or be subject to be taken by his creditors. But, in order to give such a qualified estate, instead of an absolute one, the language of the testator musí he such' as clearly to import an intention to do so. In the case at bar the testator makes an absolute gift of the whole income of his estate to his widow for her life. The words, "to bo for her comfort and support,' at most ,n press the moíive ima purpose of I he gift, but cannot be held to make the gift conditional. They have little, if any, more’significance than the words, ‘to be for her benefit and enjoyment/ and are not to cut down, the clearly-expressed absolute gift, to a, qualified or conditional one.”
The courts of Venmonl, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and of Missouri hold substantially the same doctrine as that announced in the above Massachusetts decision, and the supreme court, in Nichols v. Eaton, 91 U. S. 716-730, has indicated an inclination to adopt this modem view and departure from the English rule; but neither in that case nor in any oilier that has come to our attention has the supreme court actually done so. The positive authority of Mchols v. Eaton is coextensive only with the facts on which it was made. It has, however, been frequently misapplied, . or pressed beyond what was actually decided. In that casi» the will contained the express provision that, if the beneficiary should alienate or disx>ose of the income to which he was entitled under the trusts of the will, or if by reason of bankruptcy or insolvency or any other means whatsoever said income could be no longer personally enjoyed by Mm, but the same would become vested in or payable to some other person, then the trust expressed in the will, concerning so much thereof as would so vest, should immediately cease and determine, and the trust fund was (lien to be paid to tiie wife and children, or wife and child, as the case might be, of the beneficiary, and, in default of any wife, child, or children, the income was to accumulate in augmentation of the ’principal fund; thus making a dear limitation over upon the happening of the designated contingencies which were to determine the benfioiary’s interest.
It was further provided that, in case, after the cessation or determination of the beneficiary’s interest in the income as directed, the trustees might, “in their discretion, but without its being obligatory upon them, pay to or apply for the use of’ the beneficiary, or for the use of Mm and Ms wife and family, so much and such parts of the income to which the said beneficiary would have been entitled under the preceding trusts, In case the forfeiture provided for had not happened. The trust under the will terminated by bankruptcy of the beneficiary. The assignee thereafter claimed the fund, or a portion of it. under-the discretionary power conferred upon the trustees to pay or to apply the income for the use of the cestui que trust, or for him and his wife and family, to the same extent the beneficiary would have been entitled if the forfeiture had not happened. It was conceded by the claimant, and so held by the court, that the beneficiary’s interest given by the
In some of the states, as in New York, Illinois, and Tennessee, there are statutory provisions preventing the alienation of trust estates, or exempting the interests of the beneficiaries therein from liability for the debts where the trust is created by, or the property so held has proceeded from, some person other than the defendant himself, and the trust is declared by will duly recorded or deed duly registered. Graff v. Bonnett, 31 N. Y. 9; Campbell v. Foster, 35 N. Y. 361; Williams v. Thorn, 70 N. Y. 270; Nichols v. Levy, 5 Wall. 433; Spindle v. Shreve, 111 U. S. 542-548, 4 Sup. Ct. Rep. 522; and one branch of Potter v. Couch, 141 U. S. 319, 320, 11 Sup. Ct. Rep. 1005. — -were caaes where such statutory provisions were construed and applied. In Spindle v. Shreve, 111 U. S., at pages 547, 548, 4 Sup. Ct. Rep., at pages 524, 525, it is said by Mr. Justice Matthews, specking for the court—
“That it cannot ho doubted that it to competent for testators and grantors, by will or deed, to establish trusts, both of real and personal property, and of rents, issues, and profits, and produce of the same, by appropriation and limitation and power to trustees, which shall secure the application of such bounty to the personal and family uses during the life of the beneficiary, so that it. shall not be subject to alienation, either by voluntary act on Ms part or in invititm by bis creditors. The limits within which such provision, may bo made and administered of coarse must be found in the law of that jurisdiction which is the situs of the property in case of real estate, and in case of personalty whore the trust was created, or is to bo administered, according to circumstances; and in determining these limits that law declares how far and by what forms and modes the institution of properly may be permitted to' accommodate itself to the will and convenience of. individuals, without prejudice to public interests ami policy; by what limitations and instruments its usual Incidents may be affected and altered, so as to effectuate the intention of parties; how far the dominion implied in the idea of property may be extended, so as to limit the future dominion of those who succeed to the beneficial enjoyment. Tt follows that the judgment in each case must bo determined by the positive provision of the law of the localities which govern it, and the particular terms of the instrument by which the scheme is framed.”
TTie result of the authorities most favorable to the contention of respondents is that, where the creator of the trust does not expressly or by clearly manifested intention restrict alienation, or exclude the trust property or fund from liability for debts of She beneficiary, and there is no positive provision of. law to the contrary, the cestui que trust, may assign his equitable interest or estate, and the same may be reached and subjected to the payment of Ms debis by a court of equity, after his creditor has exhausted his remedy at law. “It is the settled rule of law,” says Mr. Justice B wayne,
There is no statute of Ohio establishing a rule of property in respect to trust estates that exempts the interests of the beneficiary therein from liability for his debts; on the contrary, it is provided by section 5464, Rev. St Ohio, that “when a judgment debtor has not personal or real property subject to levy or execution sufficient to satisfy the judgment,' any equitable interest which he lias in real estate, as mortgagor, mortgagee, or otherwise, or any interest he may have in any banking, turnpike, bridge, or other joint-stock company, or in any money contract, claim, or chose' in action due or to become due to him, or in any judgment or order, or any money, goods, or effects which he has in the possession of any person or body politic or corporate, shall be subject to the payment of the judgment by action.” It hardly admits of debate that the interest or share of Cassius in the trust fund held by and in the possession of the defendant Brooks, falls within the comprehensive provisions of this statute; and we have been cited to no decision or decisions of the supreme court of Ohio holding that such an. interest as that given to and possessed by Cassius B. Hanna in the trust fund under consideration could not be reached by his creditors. Under the general rule stated by Mr. Justice Matthews in Spindle v. Shreve, 111 U. S. 547, 548, 4 Sup. Ct. Rep. 524, 525, quoted above, testators in Ohio cannot so execute wills or create trusts that a compliance therewith will result in a violation óf law, or in overriding the provisions of the statute making the interest of the beneficiary in a trust' fund liable for his debts, unless there is some forfeiture clause or limitation over which will operate to terminate the interest of the estate of the cestui que trust. It may well be doubted whether, under a statute like that of Ohio, an expressed intention or declaration of the testator that the share of Cassius in the trust fund should not be subjected to his debts, in the absence of any limitation over or termination of his interest, could have been sustained. It is not a sound proposition to say that the intention of the testator in such a case must be executed without regard to the existing law, or that his expressed wishes shall prevail against the positive provisions of the statute in respect to interests or estates given. In Kentucky there is a statute substantially like that of Ohio, and the decisions in that state fully sustain the views above expressed. Thus in Marshall’s Trustee v. Rash, 87 Ky. 116, 7 S. W. Rep. 879, the interest of the cestui que trust was given to him absolutely, but with discretion in the trustees in whom the control or title was vested to pay to him such portions of the profits and in such manner as he might think best. It was held that this discretion the trustee was bound to exercise in good faith, and the reasonable exercise of which a court of equity would compel for the benefit of the beneficiaries, and that the interest of the cestui
Without multiplying authorities on this subject, which Is fully discussed in those already referred to, and in 2 Pom. Eq. Jur. § 536, the conclusion of the court is that Cassius B. Hanna’s share of the net annual income of the estate, accrued and to hereafter accrue until the final distribution of the principal thereof, as provided by the will, can be readied and subjected in this proceeding to the payment of complainant’s judgment Tin; question on which the court entertains the most doubt is whether said Cassius is not entitled to the entire one half of said net income, instead of the share as above indica tod, and apportioned to him, but this doubt the court has resolved against the complainant and in favor of Cassius’ children on the presumption that the latter were together, equally with the son, the objects of the testator’s bounty. fn regard to what should be treated or regarded as the net yearly income of the estate, which is made the subject of the trust by the will, the chief, if not the only, question or matter of difference or dlspnle between the parties is whether certain funds or monthly payments received and to be received by the executor and trustee from the Hacking Coal & Iron Company, under a written contract made and entered into between hint and said company on September 9, 1885, for the mining of coal on certain land of the testator located in .Hocking- county, Ohio, are to be considered income or. part of the corpus of lite estate. The master has reported ihafc rhe rnumey received under this contract (amounting, up to March 31, 1892, to the sum of |30,000) was "income” of the estate, within the terms of the trust. To this the respondents have excepted, claiming (hat the fund is part of the “corpus” of the estate. The executor and trastee has so treated it, and made no distribution or investment thereof, for the beneficiarios entitled to the net income under the trust. Whether said fund is to be regarded as "income” or “corpus” of the estate depends mainly upon the question whether the contract under which it has been and is still being received is a lease of the coal mine or a sale of the coal as part of the realty Tins must be determined by the proper construction of the instrument and the intention of the parties. By the terms of the contract called an "agreement” the executor “grants” to the Hocking
At the time of making the monthly payments the company agreed to furnish a written report by its engineer or other proper officer, showing the number of tons of coal mined during the preceding
This contract or agreement is clearly, in its legal effect and meaning, a lease, and the monthly payment of $4-16.67 whether* coal is mined or not, although called “royalty,” is the x*ental to be paid by the lessee for “the exclusive right, permission, and license to enter upon the mine, and remove the coal,” together* with “the right to oc
TTow can the right or license to mine coal in excess of the minimum of 50,000 tons per annum, taken in connection with the uncertainty whether it will ever be exercised or not, operate or have the effect to convert or change funds ihat are now clearly income into “corpus” of the estate? The intention of the testator was to give the designated beneficiaries of Hie trust the net “income or increase” of his estate that should be collected, or received by the executor under powers of management and control as broad as those possessed by himself, if living. In Eley’s Appeal, 103 Pa. St. 306, when, the word “income” was used In a will creating a trust, the court said:
“In seeking for the teKbrior's intention, we derive little or no assistance from that class of cases in which it lias been properly held that a lease of the exclusive right to mine and remove coal or other mineral, without limitation as to tho quantity or lime, is practically a sale of coal or oilier mineral in place of the land itself. The word, ‘income’ means the gain or profit which accrues from the property, labor, or business. In its ordinary and popular incurring, it. is strictly applicable to the periodical payments in the nature of rent,-which are usually made under coal and other mineral leases, and we have no doubt it was so used by the testator. In the absence of any provision, expressed or implied, that the payments in the nature of rents shall be accumulated for the ultimate benefit of those in remainder, it would bo a strained and unnatural construction to hold that he intended to give appellants only the annual interest in the installments of rent.”
The further contention urged by respondents, that, inasmuch as coal mines in question were not opened in the life of the testator, the executor had no authority to lease the same .so sis to make the rental therefor income, Is not sound. In Eley’s Appeal, supra, it is held Ihsit “by empowering his executors, with the written consent of six tenths of the owners, to lease the coal for mining purposes, the testator virtually gave appellants the same right they would have had if the mines had been open and operated in Ms lifetime.” Daly v. Beckett, 24 Beav. 114-123, supports this proposition, and is an authority directly in point. Tn the present case the executor was invested with the same power of leasing as the testator himself possessed, and that, too, without the consent of any one interested, directly or remotely, in the estate under the will. This
It follows that the exception taken by defendant or defendants to the report of the master as to the character of funds received by the executor under said contract of September 9, 1885, with the Hocking Coal & Iron Company, must be disallowed and overruled, and that the money already and yet to be received thereunder should be regarded as income, in which the defendant Cassius B. Hanna has a one-fourth share, which is subject to the payment of complainant’s debts. The $30,000 of rent or royalty received by the executor up to March 31, 1892, has been commingled with other funds, and invested by him, and he states that there has been no loss on said investments. The master reports (amended and supplemental report) that, exclusive of said royalties for lease of coal mines, the trustee has received between November 20, 1889, and March 31, 1892, net income to the amount of $17,008.67. It is suggested by counsel for defendant that the master’s addition is wrong, and that this should be only $16,518.67. But the court finds no such error in the addition as claimed. The complainant is entitled to subject in the hands of the trustee one fourth of said sum of $17,008.67 to the payment of his judgment against Cassius B. Hanna. The trustee will be allowed no credit for sums paid or advanced to Cassius B. Hanna and his wife, Hattie L. Hanna, from and after the '4th day of December, 1889, when said trustee was served with process in the cause, and had notice of complainant’s claim, and all payments and advances made by the trustee after that date were made at his own risk and peril, including the $1,876.50 paid Mrs. Ford on December 28, 1889, for account of Cassius B.
It is shown by the report that the income account of Cassius B. Hanna prior to November 20, 1889, had been overdrawn to the amount of $690.95. This sum will be deducted from the above a! lowance made complainant, as against said Cassius and the said trustee. It is not material to determine and fix what is the exact
The foregoing conclusions render it unnecessary to consider and separately act upon the various exceptions to the master’s report or reports, filed by the parties. Said exceptions so filed, so far as not disposed of above, are overruled. The costs of the cause, including a reasonable allowance to the special master, will be divided between the complainant and the defendant Brooks, each being taxed with one half thereof. Let a decree be entered accordingly.