ARK.] LUCAS V. LACY. 145 - LUCAS V. LACY. OPinion delivered June 29, 1925. WILLS—WIDOW'S RENUNCIATION OF WILL. — Under Crawford & Moses' ,. Dig., § 3540, providing that a , widow renouncing a will shall convey by deed of release and quitclaiin to the heirs of her husband's esiate, held that a deed of quitclaim by a widow to the heirs of her husband and his devisees, including such of her cbillateral heirs as were named as devisees, was insufficient as • . a renunciation of the will. Appeal from Logan. Circuit Court, Southern District; icimes Cochran; Judge; affirmed. • • STATEMENT BY . THE CO`UB.T. . • . -Mrs. R . A. E.-Lnca.s filed a petition . in the probate court. against the -heirs . of* Isaac J. Ltcas, deceased, to .haye.dower allotted to:herdn his estate.' • 'Isaac J. Lucas and his . wife, Mrs. R. A. E. Lncasi • were married . to each other in 1872 ih what is..now.the _SOuthern DiStrict . of Logan Connty, Ark.- Isaac J. Lucas died . testate oh thel4th . day . of Jime; 1922, leaving surviving him his widow and certain collateral heirs. 'He 'died possessed-of both lands and personal prdi3erty. By his will he direeted that his wife should havethe .use and benefit of all his property, both real and personal, 'during thebalance of her life. Ather death' he directed that the balance of his personal property:and all of his real estate should be divided in the manner designated in the will between his collateral . heirsi and the .collateral heirs of his wife. The will was executed on•the 26th day of June, 1919, 'and*Isaac J . . Lucas died .in the -Southern District of Lo g an: County, Ark., on, the 14th day* of June, 1922. On the 20th day of April, 1923, Mrs. R. A. E. Lucas executed a . deed of release , to-the heirs of Isaac J.. Lucas, 'deceased; and the devisees named in his last will and testament, to all the right, title and interest devised, to her under .said will. The lands . are specifically . described in -the deed, and it . was drily acknowledged before ,a notary public . on the day of .its
146 LUCAS V. LACY. [169 execution. The deed was delivered to her nephew, who was also one of the executors under the will. Mrs. Lucas filed her petition for dower in the probate court on the 17th day of April, 1923. Dower was allotted to her by the prbbate court, and the heirs of Isaac J. Lucas, deceased, duly prosecuted an appeal to the circuit court. There the case was heard upon the facts above stated. It was further shown that the lands of Isaac J. Lucas were rented to a nephew of Mrs. Lucas for $525 per year, and that he was in possession of said lands under his lease when Isaac J. Lucas died. He continued in possession of the lands after Lucas' death, and was in possession of them at the time this suit was cominenced. Mrs. Lucas intended to abide by the provisions of her husband's will, but changed her mind and undertook to claim dower under the statute because the heirs of her deceased husband were notifying the tenants not•to pay rent on the lands to her, and were also . attempting to interfere with her possession of the personal rvp-erty. • The circuit court found that the petitioner had not made her renunciation of the will in the manner provided by statute, and it was adjudged that her petition should be dismissed. From the judgment rendered, Mrs.. R. A. E. Lucas has duly prosecuted an appeal to this court. Kincawn,On Kincannon, for appellant.* Ev . ans Evans; for appellee. 'HART, J., (after stating the facts). The widow filed her renunciation of the will within the time prescribed by statute, and the correctness of the judgment of the circuit court depends upon the construction to be giVen to the statute as applied to the facts of the case at bar. • Sec. 3540 of Crawford & Moses' Digest reads as follows : "If a 'widow, for whom provision has been made by will, elect to be endowed of the lands and personal
ARK.] LUCAS V. LACY. 147 property of which her husband died seized, she shall convey, by deed of release and quitclaim, to. the •heirs ,of such estate the land so to her devised and bequeathed, which -deed shall be acknowledged or• • proVed .and recorded as other deeds for real' estate are required to be • aoknoWledged or proved and recorded." The reCord shoWs that -Isaac J. Lucas died On . the 14th day of January, 1922. ,and that Mrs. Liteai, his widow; . execnted the- deed of release on the 20th da3: of 'April, 1923. The grantees in the deed of release and . • quitclaiM are the heirs of Isaac J. Lucas - and .the devisees under his last will and testament, who are specifically named as grantees. • The ,statute provides that the widow' shall .convey by deed of 'release and quitclaim.to the heirs of her husband's estate. In the case at bar she not only conveyed to the heirs of her deceased husband, but also to such of her collateral heirs as were nained as devisees in,the will. This was not the renunciation • of the . Will provided . by statute. The object of the Legislature was to compel the widow to make her election to take her dower, instead of the provision made her under the will in lieu thereof, by some method . whieh was plain and could not be -Misunderstood. The statute prescribes definitely the grantees in the deed, and it appears.to have been enacted, not only for the.purpose of fixing-a definite manner-of -election, but- to provide- that the- title of -the - real estate of the . testator. might be made' a matter of record, to the end that those dealing With the property . might be advised regarding - the title. ;The will wOUld be a matter . of record when it was recorded, and , in like manner, if the widow executes a deed of .release and quit-claim as provided by the statute, it may be placed- of recOrd and thus a complete record of the title is provided for: It was not alone for the purpOse Of divesting the widow of any interest in the lands she might have under the will that the statute required renunciation, but for
the sake of the heirs of the deceased, in order that they might be .advised of her disposition in the matter. . It will . be presumed that the devisees' under the will.. would be bound to receive notice in due course . of the administration of the , estate under the will.. Be that. as it may, the statute provides :that the deed of Telease , and quitclaim shall be executed to the heirs of .. .the estate of her deceased husband, and,. this being the . mode of renun-. ciation , p6inted 'out by the statute, the courts haVe no powdr tb ado i jt a substittitel This iS the offeCt of onr previous construction of the statute. • Pumphry v. Pumphry,-52 Ark. 193, and Cooley v. North, 130 Ark. 350. The effect of our holding is . that . Mrs. R A. E. Lucas, as widow of Isaac J. Lucas, deceased, is entitled to the use of all of her husband's property,. both -real'and personal, during her natural life, in accordance with the principles of law laid down in Galloway v. Sewell, 162 Ark 627., The result of our yiews is that the, judgment of the,. circuit court must be affirmed.
You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.