Thomas v. Byrd

Decided October 15, 1916

Mississippi Supreme Court · decided 1916-10-15

HoN. E. N. Thomas, Chancellor. Snit to qniet title by James W. Byrd and another against Mabel C. Thomas and others. From a decree for complainants, defendants appeal. James W. Byrd, August B. Byrd, and William Q-. Byrd, three brothers, all of whom were unmarried at the time of the execution of the instrument which forms the basis of this suit, were engaged in the planting business.

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Decided 1916-10-15

How this case has been cited

Cited by 13 later decisions — most recently March 1960

13 state decisions

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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Smith, C. J.,

¶1delivered the opinion of the court.

¶2While the solution of the question presented by this record is not without difficulty, we are of the opinion that the instrument here involved (which the reporter will set out in full) did not convey to any of the parties thereto any interest in the property of the others, to vest either immediately or in the future, but that the object sought to be accomplished by it was to cause whatever property each of the parties thereto might own at his death to vest, when that event should occur, in the surviving party or parties. The instrument, therefore, is testamentary in character, and can have no operation as a deed.

¶3Reversed and remanded.