Burgess v. Hargrove

Citations

• 64 Tex. 110

Syllabus

<p>1. Act of March 20, 1840 (art. 1653, Revised Statutes), construed.— The term “ child or children,” as used in the above article, refers to descendants in the first degree only, and if a husband or wife dies leaving grandchildren but no children, the entire community estate passes to the surviving spouse.</p> <p>2. Contemporary statutes.— From the beginning it has been the apparent design of the legislature not to leave the words “child or children” to construction ; when descendants were meant, the term “ descendants ” has been used, the same meaning never being attached to the words “ child or children ” without a provision in the statute that they should be taken in that sense.</p> <p>8. Interpretation of laws.— When the words of a new statute differ materially from those of a prior act upon the same subject, they are to have a different and not the same construction.</p> <p>4. Signification of words.— The Revised Statutes require that the ordinary construction should be put upon words, except words of art, or those used in connection with a particular trade or subject-matter. The term “ child or children,” not coming within the exception, must be presumed to be used in its ordinary sense.</p> <p>5. Civil law of inheritance.— Under the civil law the term “ children ” included all descendants in a direct line.</p> <p>6. Construction of statutes. — Though our statutes which refer to community rights were derived from the civil law, yet in construing the phraseology which the legislature used in framing those statutes, the courts will not be confined to a civil law construction, but will resort to rules of interpretation well recognized in every system of laws.</p> <p>7. Same.— Prior to the act of March 13, 1848 (Pasch. Dig., arts. 4641, 4649), the statutes regulating descent and distribution used the word “ descendants ” when descendants without regard to degree were meant; such meaning was never attached to the words “child or children,” under any previous statu