147 A. 70 | Pa. | 1929
Argued May 15, 1929. William Wilson died April 9, 1916, leaving a will in which he devised to his daughter, Katherine Watson, the house and lot then occupied by testator, and gave the residue of his real and personal estate to his wife, Catherine Wilson, for life, remainder to the children of his daughter, Katherine Watson, in equal shares. On November 21, 1916, the widow executed an election to take against the will of her husband and demanded that an appraisement be made and property to the extent of $5,000 set aside as provided by the Act of April 1, 1909, P. L. 87. Notwithstanding this paper was acknowledged and recorded the same day in the office of the recorder of deeds, it is conceded that no notice of it was given the executor until June 5, 1928, at which time a petition was filed by Catherine Wilson, setting forth that William Wilson died without issue, averring that her election to take against the will was duly made and recorded, that she was entitled to the sum of $5,000 in addition to the widow's exemption of $300, as well as to one-half of the remaining real and personal estate, and asking that appraisers be appointed to set aside her allotment and exemption. Attached to the petition was a copy of the original election to take against the will, also a paper entitled "Widow's Demand," wherein she elected to retain out of the estate of her deceased husband, real estate to the value of $5,000, under the Act of 1909, requesting that an appraisement be made according to law, and also requesting an appraisement of real estate to the value of $300, covering her exemption. The answer to the petition averred that no notice of the election of the widow to take against the will of her husband *351 was served on deponent as executor and that it was now too late for petitioner to make such election, as the rights of others had intervened, and averred further that decedent had, in fact, left a daughter who was interested under the will of her father, and she had children also interested under the will, and that they had not been made parties to the action.
At the hearing, Mrs. Wilson was called as a witness and testified, under objection, that she and decedent had no children and that Katherine Watson referred to in the will was a child whom they had taken from an orphan asylum when quite young, but had never actually adopted. Mrs. Wilson also testified that, from the time of her husband's death, she managed all the property left by him, continued to live in the house devised to Katherine Watson and received the entire income from the remainder of the estate except a house occupied by her daughter, from which she received no income since its occupancy by the former. During this time, a period of nearly twelve years, she took no action towards having an appraisement made and property set aside to her under the election which she recorded in 1916.
The evidence concerning the daughter depended entirely upon the testimony of the surviving widow. Under the rule stated in Munson v. Crookston,
Under the above decisions the election in this case made in 1916 was a nullity because not delivered to the executor and filed in the orphans' court. In the meantime the widow had proceeded to accept the benefits of the will, took possession of the real estate, and collected the rents therefrom for a period of twelve years before the present petition and election to take against the will was filed. The rights of other beneficiaries under the will have in the meantime intervened.
The Act of 1911 contained no express provision as to the time within which an election must be made. While this was changed by the Wills Act of June 7, 1917, P. L. 403, which requires an election to be made within two years, and provides that failure to do so will be deemed *353
an election to take under the will, that act, by its express provision, does not apply to wills of persons who died previous to its effective date. The question of laches in the present case must accordingly be determined on equitable principles. In Beck's Estate, supra, a delay of 15 months in making an election was held insufficient to bar the right, while, on the other hand, a delay of three and one-half years was held to be "gross laches on the part of the widow in exercising her right of election to take the benefit of her exemption, and operates as conclusive proof of a waiver of her right" (Kern's App.,
Under the circumstances, the widow was clearly guilty of laches in the present case, and is bound by her implied election in accepting the benefits under the will during a period of nearly twelve years.
The judgment is affirmed.