Cases argued and decided in the Supreme Court of Texas, during the latter part of the Tyler term, 1874, and the first part of the Galveston term, 1875. Volume 42. Page: 329
viii, 704 p. ; 22 cm.View a full description of this book.
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1875.J STEPHENSON V. MoFADDIN. 329
Opinion of the Court.
there error in the refusal of the court to permit the defendant
Stephenson to testify, that by the words, "Five hundred dol"lars"
to be paid by her executors to the guardians of the
minors, "within six months after my death, and sooner if prac"ticable,"
was meant a Louisiana bank bill, deposited with defendant's
wife by the testatrix, and to be paid by her; and
that the person or " scribe" who drew the will, did not correctly
understand, or state the wishes or intentions of the testatrix.
It is neither necessary to refer to authorities, or present
reasons, in support of the rule that parol evidence will not be
admissible to contradict, add to, or explain the contents of a
written will, if the words of the instrument are clear and have
a definite meaning. Apart, however, from this, the will itself
shows that the evidence sought to be introduced could not have
been in the mind of the testatrix. If the five hundred dollars
were already in the hands of defendant's wife, in a bank bill,
ready to be paid over to the legatees, why direct in the will
that her executors should pay it in six months, and sooner if
practicable ? This shows, what the inventory proves, that there
was no such amount in ready money, or its equivalent, in any
way belonging to her estate; it consisting chiefly of land, and
that she looked to her executors to realize it out of her estate,
by sale or otherwise. Again, in "item 6" of her will, after
providing for an equal distribution of the property to her other
children, as well as to those children who were to receive it
under items 2, 3, and 4, she provides that the provision of five
hundred dollars, mentioned in item 5 of her will, to be paid to
the guardians of the grandchildren, shall " remain unchanged
"and be in no wise affected by the division and distribution
"of the remainder of my estate as herein provided," showing
that she looked to her general estate for the payment of this
legacy.
In the charge of the court we see no error sufficient to
authorize a reversal, the charge on the material question was
substantially correct. The descendants in their amended answer
asserted that partition of all the estate had been made,
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Texas. Supreme Court. Cases argued and decided in the Supreme Court of Texas, during the latter part of the Tyler term, 1874, and the first part of the Galveston term, 1875. Volume 42., book, 1881; St. Louis, Mo.. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth28531/m1/337/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .