Rullman v. Winterling

Briscoe, J., delivered the opinion of the Court. This is a creditors bill, filed in the Circuit Court for Anne Arundel County by the appellees against the appellants to procure a sale of the real estate of Frederick Rullman, deceased, for the purpose of paying his creditors; the personal estate being insufficient to discharge the debts against the estate. The real estate consists of a tract of land containing five and one-half acres, improved by a dwelling-house and five ³⁶ small frame tenement houses, and situate near the city of Annapolis in the Second Election District of Anne Arundel County, and represented to be worth about $3,500. The defendant, Adeline W. Rullman, the widow, holds a life estate in the property under and by virtue of a deed dated the 27th of March, and under a will dated the 7th day of September, 1882, in which the grantor and testator conveyed and devised the lot of land described in these proceedings to his wife during her life, she to receive the rents and emoluments arising from the. property.

The plaintiffs below, and appellees here, are judgment creditors and Mrs. Rullman, the widow, who claims to be a creditor of the estate to the extent of fifteen hundred dollars. The defendants below and the,appellants here are Mr. Robert L. Werntz, a mortgagee to the extent of six hundred and fifty dollars, and the heirs at law of the deceased. The prayer of the bill, in addition to one for general relief, is that the real estate of Frederick Rullman, or so much thereof ás may be necessary for the purpose, be, sold for the payment of the claims of the unsatisfied creditors of his estate. There is no objection urged to the granting of a decree for the sale of the property as thus prayed by the bill., Now, it is admitted that the mortgage and judgment claims filed herein are proper debts to be allowed against the estate, so this brings us to the consideration of the claim set up by the widow, Mrs. Rullman, which appears to be the only matter in dispute and controversy in the case.

This claim, as set out in the record, appears to be made up of the following items: The estate of Frederick Rullman To Adeline W. Rullman ’ For sums of money advanced by her for the construction of dwelling and out houses in Second District, under promise of repayment by deceased.......................................................$ 902 80 For sums of money advanced by her for repairs to property of the deceased in the Second District, under agreement to repay. 75 00 For money due her from rents, issues and profits of real estate under deed of March 27th, 1882............................................ 522 20 $1500 00 ³⁷ It will be seen that the contention of Mrs. Rullman for the allowance of her claim is based upon the allegation contained in her answer to the bill, that after the date of the deed to her she -advanced out of her own money and loaned to her husband, under a promise on his part to repay, various sums of money to be used by him for the construction of buildings and repairing the houses on the lot of ground mentioned in these proceedings; that she also loaned him a further sum, to-wit the sum of $522.20, upon a