{ "id": 8527758, "name": "ERNESTINE W. JAMIN, and husband, CHARLES F. JAMIN; MARY VERNE W. POWELL, WIDOW; MARILYN ROSE DUNCAN; GLADYS W. BAICY, single; JOYCE W. McDIARMID, widow; JAMES WILLIAMSON, and wife, JEANETTE WILLIAMSON; MARIE W. WARNER, and husband, JIMMY WARNER; MARGUERITE W. NORRIS, widow; BEATRICE W. STEWART, and husband, SAM ELMO STEWART; BERNICE L. WILLIAMSON, SR., and wife, ROSA A. WILLIAMSON; HUGH L. WILLIAMSON, and wife, JOYCE H. WILLIAMSON; OLIVER WAYNE WILLIAMSON, and wife, BETTY L. WILLIAMSON; ARROVEIVE W. HILL, widow; RINTOUL E. MITCHELL, single; LYNN C. GOODWIN, and wife, DEBORAH GOODWIN; LOUISE W. DYE, single; ANDREW GREY WILLIAMSON, and wife, ANN M. WILLIAMSON; BETTY H. WILLIAMSON, widow; JANE OLIVER SWAIN, and husband, JOHN EDWARDS SWAIN, III; SUSAN C. WILLIAMSON, single; KATHRYN R. WILLIAMSON BOWSWELL; PRISCILLA C. MILLER, and husband, STEVE MILLER; KAREN D. SEIFFERT, and husband, THOMAS W. SEIFFERT; SANDRA GALLOWAY WORKMAN, and husband, HAROLD S. WORKMAN, JR. v. JOSEPH M. WILLIAMSON, III and WARNER BROWN DANIELS, JR.", "name_abbreviation": "Jamin v. Williamson", "decision_date": "1989-07-18", "docket_number": "No. 8816SC1337", "first_page": "699", "last_page": "703", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "94 N.C. App. 699" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C. Ct. App.", "id": 14983, "name": "North Carolina Court of Appeals" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "136 S.E. 2d 52", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "55", "parenthetical": "presumption, when construing a will, that testator did not intend to die intestate as to part of property" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "261 N.C. 696", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8575308 ], "year": 1964, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "700", "parenthetical": "presumption, when construing a will, that testator did not intend to die intestate as to part of property" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/261/0696-01" ] }, { "cite": "5 S.E. 283", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.", "year": 1888, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "284" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "99 N.C. 80", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8649294 ], "year": 1888, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "80-81" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/99/0080-01" ] }, { "cite": "13 A.L.R. 2d 1023", "category": "reporters:specialty", "reporter": "A.L.R. 2d", "year": 1950, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "37 S.E. 2d 682", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1946, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "684" }, { "page": "684" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "226 N.C. 245", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8616990 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1946, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "248" }, { "page": "248" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/226/0245-01" ] }, { "cite": "67 S.E. 2d 463", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1951, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "234 N.C. 747", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8625971, 8625997 ], "year": 1951, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/234/0747-01", "/nc/234/0747-02" ] }, { "cite": "66 S.E. 2d 777", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "780" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "234 N.C. 173", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8620023 ], "year": 1951, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "177" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/234/0173-01" ] }, { "cite": "128 S.E. 2d 758", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1963, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "760" }, { "parenthetical": "citation omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "258 N.C. 482", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8561244 ], "year": 1963, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "484" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/258/0482-01" ] }, { "cite": "207 S.E. 2d 753", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1974, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "285 N.C. 659", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8567619, 8567657, 8567725, 8567758, 8567698 ], "year": 1974, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/285/0659-01", "/nc/285/0659-02", "/nc/285/0659-04", "/nc/285/0659-05", "/nc/285/0659-03" ] }, { "cite": "206 S.E. 2d 316", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "weight": 2, "year": 1974, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "318" }, { "page": "318" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "22 N.C. App. 276", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 11302670 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1974, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "278" }, { "page": "278" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/22/0276-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 540, "char_count": 9829, "ocr_confidence": 0.742, "pagerank": { "raw": 5.8591662004228935e-08, "percentile": 0.3634986055171556 }, "sha256": "113d11d77789098bd7d558511e01d63a6f2555fa20c593de4979e0bf038fef7a", "simhash": "1:102c2f2c34df22fc", "word_count": 1624 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T20:07:12.068465+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "Judges Phillips and Lewis concur." ], "parties": [ "ERNESTINE W. JAMIN, and husband, CHARLES F. JAMIN; MARY VERNE W. POWELL, widow; MARILYN ROSE DUNCAN; GLADYS W. BAICY, single; JOYCE W. McDIARMID, widow; JAMES WILLIAMSON, and wife, JEANETTE WILLIAMSON; MARIE W. WARNER, and husband, JIMMY WARNER; MARGUERITE W. NORRIS, widow; BEATRICE W. STEWART, and husband, SAM ELMO STEWART; BERNICE L. WILLIAMSON, SR., and wife, ROSA A. WILLIAMSON; HUGH L. WILLIAMSON, and wife, JOYCE H. WILLIAMSON; OLIVER WAYNE WILLIAMSON, and wife, BETTY L. WILLIAMSON; ARROVEIVE W. HILL, widow; RINTOUL E. MITCHELL, single; LYNN C. GOODWIN, and wife, DEBORAH GOODWIN; LOUISE W. DYE, single; ANDREW GREY WILLIAMSON, and wife, ANN M. WILLIAMSON; BETTY H. WILLIAMSON, widow; JANE OLIVER SWAIN, and husband, JOHN EDWARDS SWAIN, III; SUSAN C. WILLIAMSON, single; KATHRYN R. WILLIAMSON BOWSWELL; PRISCILLA C. MILLER, and husband, STEVE MILLER; KAREN D. SEIFFERT, and husband, THOMAS W. SEIFFERT; SANDRA GALLOWAY WORKMAN, and husband, HAROLD S. WORKMAN, JR. v. JOSEPH M. WILLIAMSON, III and WARNER BROWN DANIELS, JR." ], "opinions": [ { "text": "BECTON, Judge.\nThis case involves the distribution of proceeds received from the sale of real property. The trial judge ordered that $134,000 received in the sale of the \u201cHomeplace Property\u201d be disbursed among the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of S. G. Williamson on a per capita basis at each generation. We vacate the order and remand with instructions that the court order a per stirpes distribution.\nI\nOn 13 December 1934, S. G. Williamson, a father of ten children, conveyed a life estate in the \u201cHomeplace Property\u201d to his son Charlie, with the remainder to Charlie\u2019s children. In the event that Charlie died without issue, the deed provided that\n. . . the said land ... is to revert to any child or children that I have living at that time, and to the representatives of any of my children who may be dead, it being the intention of this conveyance that said land is conveyed to the said Charlie B. Williamson during the term of his natural life, and at his death, to his children, and if he should die without children, then and in that event, said land is to revert to my children or to my grandchildren as the case may be ... .\nAll of Charlie Williamson\u2019s siblings predeceased him. Charlie died in 1985 and left no children. At his death, sixteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren of S. G. Williamson were alive.\nAfter the sale of the Homeplace Property, the commissioners asked the Superior Court for directions on distributing the proceeds. Following a hearing, the judge ordered the commissioners to make a disbursement among the grandchildren and great-grandchildren on a per capita basis at each generation. The judge\u2019s decree left the grandchildren with sixteen-twentieths of the $134,000 (or a one-twentieth undivided interest per grandchild) and left the great-grandchildren with four-twentieths of the total (or a one fiftieth undivided interest per great-grandchild).\nAppellant Hugh Williamson is a grandchild of S. G. Williamson and the surviving child of S. G. Williamson\u2019s son L. C. Williamson. Appellant Sandra Galloway Workman is the great-grandchild of S. G. Williamson and is the surviving grandchild of S. G. Williamson\u2019s daughter Bertha Williamson Galloway. Under a per stirpes distribution, each of these appellants would receive a one-ninth share of the proceeds of the sale.\nII\nAppellants press several different points in their respective briefs. The contention common to them both, however, is the single issue we address in this appeal. Appellants argue that the judge erred by construing the deed as directing a per capita distribution among the heirs of S. G. Williamson, and we agree.\nAs with the provisions in a will, a court\u2019s duty when construing a deed is to ascertain the intent of the grantor by looking to the language of the instrument. See Hardy v. Edwards, 22 N.C. App. 276, 278, 206 S.E. 2d 316, 318, cert. denied, 285 N.C. 659, 207 S.E. 2d 753 (1974). In will cases, our courts have acknowledged an especial difficulty in determining whether a testator intended a per capita or per stirpes distribution scheme. See, e.g., Wachovia Bank and Trust Co. v. Bryant, 258 N.C. 482, 484, 128 S.E. 2d 758, 760 (1963). As a consequence, \u201ccertain rules have devolved to help solve this perplexity.\u201d Id. (citation omitted). Among these is the rule that when a person takes as the representative of an ancestor, she or he takes per stirpes. E.g., Coppedge v. Coppedge, 234 N.C. 173, 177, 66 S.E. 2d 777, 780, reh\u2019g denied, 234 N.C. 747, 67 S.E. 2d 463 (1951); Wooten v. Outland, 226 N.C. 245, 248, 37 S.E. 2d 682, 684 (1946); see also Annotation, Taking Per Stirpes or Per Capita Under Will, 13 A.L.R. 2d 1023 (1950).\nThe critical clause in S. G. Williamson\u2019s deed provides that, in the event Charlie Williamson died without issue, \u201cthe said land ... is to revert to any child or children that I have living at [Charlie\u2019s death], and to the representatives of any of my children who may be dead. . . .\u201d The use of the word \u201crepresentatives\u201d signals a per stirpes distribution plan. E.g., Wooten, 226 N.C. at 248, 37 S.E. 2d at 684. Apparently, however, the trial judge interpreted the reversionary clause to provide for a per stirpes taking only if at least one child of S. G. Williamson survived Charlie. Because all the other children predeceased Charlie, the judge concluded that the property reverted to S. G. Williamson and then passed to his heirs by intestate succession. The per capita distribution at each generation ordered by the judge is the scheme called for under the Intestate Succession Act. See N.C. Gen. Stat. Secs. 29-16(a)(l) and 29-16(a)(2) (1984).\nAlthough the inference drawn by the judge may be fairly derived from the deed\u2019s language, construing the document in that way compels a conclusion that S. G. Williamson did not provide for the possibility that Charlie would be his last-surviving child. Traditionally, however, deeds are interpreted, if possible, in such a way as to give them effect, rather than in a manner that renders them inoperative. See 23 Am. Jur. 2d Deeds Sec. 228 (1983); see also Hardy, 22 N.C. App. at 278, 206 S.E. 2d at 318. For example, in North Carolina, \u201cthe terms and phraseology of [the] description\u201d of the conveyed land will be construed in order to uphold the deed \u201cif this can reasonably be done.\u201d Edwards v. Bowden, 99 N.C. 80, 80-81, 5 S.E. 283, 284 (1888). In our view, if a reasonable interpretation of the deed can identify the grantees in a rever-sionary clause, upholding the deed by such a construction is preferable to one that causes the conveyed property to pass via intestacy. Cf. Quickel v. Quickel, 261 N.C. 696, 700, 136 S.E. 2d 52, 55 (1964) (presumption, when construing a will, that testator did not intend to die intestate as to part of property).\nMost important, the language of this deed is more reasonably read as directing a per stirpes distribution. The use of the word \u201crepresentatives\u201d indicates that S. G. Williamson did not intend that his grandchildren would take per capita. Additionally, the clause \u201cif [Charlie] should die without children, then . . . [the] land is to revert to my children or to my grandchildren as the case may be\u201d (emphasis added) is consistent with a per stirpes scheme. The use of the conjunction \u201cor\u201d and the phrase \u201cas the case may be\u201d emphasizes the notion of the grandchildren as standing in the place of their deceased parents, i.e., representing them. Finally, the deed speaks of any child or children being dead; we think it reasonable that the words any children can be read as including all the siblings of Charlie, thus providing for the contingency that Charlie would be the last-surviving child.\nIll\nThe language of the deed, under a reasonable construction, indicates that S. G. Williamson intended a per stirpes and not a per capita distribution scheme. Explicitly, he directed that his grandchildren would represent any parent who died prior to Charlie, and the deed can be read as contemplating the possibility that all of Charlie\u2019s siblings would predecease him. Our reading of the deed gives effect to the document, while the trial judge\u2019s construction requires use of intestate succession statutes.\nThe order of the trial court ordering a per capita distribution at each generation is vacated, and the case is remanded with directions that the judge order a per stirpes distribution.\nReversed and remanded.\nJudges Phillips and Lewis concur.", "type": "majority", "author": "BECTON, Judge." } ], "attorneys": [ "Wyrick, Robbins, Yates & Ponton, by Robert A. Ponton, Jr. and L. Diane Tindall, for Sandra Galloway Workman and Harold S. Workman, Jr., petitioner-appellants.", "Price & McIntyre, P.A., by D. Carmichael McIntyre II, for Hugh L. Williamson and Joyce H. Williamson, petitioner-appellants.", "No brief for respondents." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "ERNESTINE W. JAMIN, and husband, CHARLES F. JAMIN; MARY VERNE W. POWELL, widow; MARILYN ROSE DUNCAN; GLADYS W. BAICY, single; JOYCE W. McDIARMID, widow; JAMES WILLIAMSON, and wife, JEANETTE WILLIAMSON; MARIE W. WARNER, and husband, JIMMY WARNER; MARGUERITE W. NORRIS, widow; BEATRICE W. STEWART, and husband, SAM ELMO STEWART; BERNICE L. WILLIAMSON, SR., and wife, ROSA A. WILLIAMSON; HUGH L. WILLIAMSON, and wife, JOYCE H. WILLIAMSON; OLIVER WAYNE WILLIAMSON, and wife, BETTY L. WILLIAMSON; ARROVEIVE W. HILL, widow; RINTOUL E. MITCHELL, single; LYNN C. GOODWIN, and wife, DEBORAH GOODWIN; LOUISE W. DYE, single; ANDREW GREY WILLIAMSON, and wife, ANN M. WILLIAMSON; BETTY H. WILLIAMSON, widow; JANE OLIVER SWAIN, and husband, JOHN EDWARDS SWAIN, III; SUSAN C. WILLIAMSON, single; KATHRYN R. WILLIAMSON BOWSWELL; PRISCILLA C. MILLER, and husband, STEVE MILLER; KAREN D. SEIFFERT, and husband, THOMAS W. SEIFFERT; SANDRA GALLOWAY WORKMAN, and husband, HAROLD S. WORKMAN, JR. v. JOSEPH M. WILLIAMSON, III and WARNER BROWN DANIELS, JR.\nNo. 8816SC1337\n(Filed 18 July 1989)\nDeeds \u00a7 12\u2014 life estate with remainder to life tenant\u2019s children \u2014 reversion to other children and grandchildren \u2014per stirpes distribution intended\nA deed which conveyed land to the grantor\u2019s son for life with remainder to the son\u2019s children and provided that if the son should die without issue, the land \u201cis to revert to any child or children that I have living at that time, and to the representative of any of my children who may be dead\u201d required a per stirpes distribution among the grantor\u2019s grandchildren and great-grandchildren upon the death of the son without issue after all of the grantor\u2019s other children had died. The reversion clause did not provide for a per stirpes distribution only if at least one other child of the grantor survived the life tenant, and the land thus did not revert to the grantor and pass to his heirs by intestate succession.\nAPPEAL by petitioners from Carlton E. Fellers, Judge. Order entered 5 July 1988 in Superior Court, ROBESON County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 7 June 1989.\nWyrick, Robbins, Yates & Ponton, by Robert A. Ponton, Jr. and L. Diane Tindall, for Sandra Galloway Workman and Harold S. Workman, Jr., petitioner-appellants.\nPrice & McIntyre, P.A., by D. Carmichael McIntyre II, for Hugh L. Williamson and Joyce H. Williamson, petitioner-appellants.\nNo brief for respondents." }, "file_name": "0699-01", "first_page_order": 729, "last_page_order": 733 }