Oakes v. Oakes

Tbis appeal is the last of a series of delaying maneuvers designed to postpone the partitioning of a farm as long as possible. Some of the owners felt the farm should be retained to provide a home for a sister, Grace Smith, and her handicapped child. Our duty is not to judge the morality of their intentions but the legal propriety of the manner in which they sought to achieve this end.

Laura Paulk Oakes died intestate on January 12, 1962. At the time of her death she owned a 120-acre farm in Shelby County. She was survived by sis children, George Russell Oakes, Leland Oakes, Harold Oakes,…