Godshalk's Estate

Citations

• 24 Pa. Super. 410
• 1904 Pa. Super. LEXIS 196

Syllabus

<p>Bond — Collateral security — Volunteers—Notice.</p> <p>With respect to a bond and a collateral security, it is settled that the bond is the principal debt in law, and must govern the rights of the parties between themselves. It must also govern as to the claims of volunteers, and they are affected by it without notice.</p> <p>A grantor in a deed charged a portion of the purchase money on the land, the interest of which was to be paid to the grantor and his wife and the survivor of them during their lives. Upon the death of the survivor the fund so charged was to be paid “ to the legal heirs of the grantor, or to those legally entitled to the same.” As a part of the transaction the grantee executed a bond to the grantor, conditioned for the payment of the fund after the death of the grantor and his wife “ to the parties entitled to receive the same by his will.” The deed was recorded, but the bond was not. Held, (1) that the bond was the principal debt and governed the rights not only of the parties, but also the grantor’s heirs, who were volunteers ; (2) that it was immaterial that the heirs had no notice of the bond; (3) that the gift was but a provisional gift to the heirs subject to an implied power in the grantor to vest the title in others by will; (4) that the beneficiaries under the grantor’s will, and not his heirs, were entitled to the fund.</p> <p>Appeals — Assignments of error — Exceptions to adjudication — Practice.</p> <p>Where a large number of exceptions have been filed to an adjudication and all have been dismissed, it is improper to assign error as follows: “ The court erred in making the decree that the exceptions should be dismissed and adjudication confirmed.”</p>