Callicott v. Parks

Citations

• 58 Miss. 528

Syllabus

<p>1. Charge on Land. Life-estate. Remainder. Apportionment of burden.</p> <p>W. died, leaving a will devising his land to L., his widow, for life, with remainder to C. and others. “W.’s estate was declared insolvent, and the land was sold, and bought by L., who enjoyed it for some years, and died. Her title was not good, because of a defect in the proceedings of sale, and after her death the remainder-men recovered the land in ejectment. Thereupon a suit was brought by the representative of her interest to fix a charge upon the land for the money ($5,000) paid by her on her purchase, on the ground that it went to pay off the debts of the estate. The remainder-men insisted that the land should not be charged with the $5,000 paid by L., but only with such an amount as, with six per cent interest per annum from the death of the testator to the time of such payment, would produce the $5,000, the interest not to be included in the charge upon the land. But the chancellor rendered a decree charging the life-estate with interest on the $5,000 after the payment thereof and during the life of the life-tenant (which was accomplished by denying to the life-estate any interest during that period), and charging the estate in remainder with that amount of principal at the death of the life-tenant, and interest thereafter. Held, that the decree of the chancellor was correct.</p> <p>2. Same. Life-estate. Remainder. Rule of apportionment.</p> <p>Where a tenant for life and a remainder-man sell the estate consisting of their united interests, the share of each in the proceeds, in the absence of an agreement, is to be determined by the value of the respective interests at the time of the sale, and the best mode of fixing the value of the life-estate is by the common tables of life-annuities. But where a court is called upon to apportion a burden between such estates, after the termination of the life-estate, it will make the apportionment on the basis of actual enjoyment, by requirin