Jasper County Democrat, Volume 23, Number 70, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1920 — HEIRS DRAWS LOTS IN DIVISION [ARTICLE]

HEIRS DRAWS LOTS IN DIVISION

Amicable Settlement Reached by the Family of C. M. Horner. Property exceeding a half million dollars in value belonging to the estate of the late Cornelius M. Horner of Monon was divided between the heirs Tuesday tn an Interesting procedure. It Involved the advance appraisement. of the numerous pieces of property and the drawing by the heirs of sealed envelopes containing descriptions of the property. The heirs then exchanged quit-claim deeds to establish ownership. Upon Mr. Horner’s death last May he left no will disposing of his large holdings. These holdings consisted of much farm land, 700 to 800 acres of which are in Pulaski county; much other land in White and adjacent counties, business property In some In lowa and some in Illinois. Surviving, along with the widow, are seven sons and daughters, two grandchildren, who are children of a deceased daughter; and one grandchild who Is the child of a deceased son. The widow is entitled to one-

third of the property, while the other two-thirds goes to the children and to the grandchildren whose parents are dead. In order to avoid lengthy and expensive court litigation, the heirs agreed to the ' procedure that was completed Tuesday. Three White county bank presidents were chosen to appraise the property—Joseph S. Minch of Monon, Samuel A. Carson of Monticello and John W. Duffy of Idaville. These gentlemen visited the various pieces of real estate and placed a definite value upon each parcel. After this had been done, the game gentlemen divided the property into twenty-seven groups of equal value. The legal description of each group was then written on a sheet bf paper and put in a sealed envelope. These twenty-seven envelopes were placed before the heirs, and each drew enough of them to make up his or her proportionate share. The widow drew nine of the envelopes; each of the seven living sons and daughters drew two envelopes; the grandchild whose father is dead drew two, being entitled to’all his father’s share; the two grandchildren whose mother is dead each drew one. Mrs. Lucy Horner, the widow, insisted that all the other belts should draw their envelopes ahead of her. Accordingly, she sat back while the children and took their turns at the hatWn which the lists had been placed.- She then accepted the remaining nine parcels—and, quite satisfactorily, -drew lands that will be comparatively easily looked after. About sixty quit-claim deeds had been prepared in advance, and as soon as the drawing was completed the heirs signed and delivered the deeds. It was stipulated that the heirs were free to trade among themselves as much as they pleased, eack to abide by the valuations made by the appraising committee. Attorneys Horner & Thompson of this city, along with C. R. Cowger of Monticello are legal advisors in the settlement of the estate, and the details leading up to Tuesday’s allotment were carried out here, including the preparation of all the papers. Not quite all the estate was thus divided, a small portion being left for later sale to take care of incidental expenses. a It is declared by men familiar with the settlement of estates that the procedure in this Instance is the largest transaction of the kind ever consummated in the state. Messrs. Horner & Thompson, who were instrumental largely in seeing that the details were carried out, are .naturally much pleased over the successful outcome of the plan. As a memorial to Mr. Horner, the heirs have deeded to the town of Monon a wooded tract of twenty-one acres, just south of the town, for park purposes. This has been accepted by the town officials and is to be known as the C. M. Horner Memorial park.—Pulaski County Democrat.