Opinion

Reading v. Dixon

  • 10 N.C. App. 319
  • 178 S.E.2d 322
  • 1971 N.C. App. LEXIS 1630
Court
Court of Appeals of North Carolina
Filed
Jan 13, 1971
Status
Published
Author
Hedrick
On the bench
Britt, Campbell, Hedrick
Cited by
2 cases
Authority
More cited than 50.3%

The opinion

HEDRICK, Judge.

The exceptions present the question of whether the facts found or admitted support the conclusions of law and the judgment entered. Appellants contend that the specific bequests! in Item IV of the Will were adeemed by the theft of the silverware on 8 August 1968, and that the insurance benefits should pass to them by virtue of the residuary clause in the will.

The principle of ademption in North Carolina has been defined as “. . . the destruction, revocation or cancellation of a legacy in accordance with the intention of the testator and results either from express revocation or is implied from acts done by the testator in his lifetime, evincing an intention to revoke or cancel the legacy.” King v. Sellers, 194 N.C. 583 , 140 S.E. 91 (1927).

Applying the facts of the instant case to this definition of ademption, it is obvious that the theft of the silverware was not an act of the testator evincing an intention to revoke or cancel the bequest.

In Rue v. Connell, 148 N.C. 302 , 62 S.E. 306 (1908), Brown, J., stated, “If the change on the form of the property is brought about by the act of another, it will not effect an ademption of the legacy if the property in its new form is in the possession of the testator at his death.”

The theft of the silverware was the “act of another,” and effected a change in the form of the property. Following the theft, the property, in its changed form, was embodied in a claim for insurance benefits which was in the possession of the testator prior to his having the stroke which resulted in his death.

*322 It is our opinion, and we so hold, that the facts found support the conclusions of law, and the judgment entered thereon is affirmed.

Affirmed.

Judges Campbell and Britt concur.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.