Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 48).pdf/879

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CHARLSON v. CHARLSON
855

he did not inform her as to the extent thereof; that he provided for her liberally; that a daughter lived with them as a member of the family; that after the death of her husband one of his sons was appointed as administrator; that he treated her kindly; that he was interested with the deceased in the mercantile business at Ray and that she had every confidence in his honesty and relied implicitly thereon; that she was not advised of the nature nor extent of her husband’s estate or of her rights therein; that she never attended any of the probate proceedings; that all papers signed by her in the course of the probate proceedings were signed with understanding that the plaintiff’s interests would be protected; that she was at all times ignorant of her rights in the estate and oi her exemptions therein. The inventory and appraisement, attached to the complaint, state the amount of the estate, not including the homestead, to be approximately $30,000. Plaintiff alleges that the value of the lands so appraised is far below their true value; that in addition the deceased had lands and other property in Minnesota and Washington. The final decree attached to the complaint dated September 27, 1919, awards to the plaintiff the home and $1,500. The remainder of the property is divided among the heirs.

Plaintiff alleges that she had no notice of the contents of this final decree until December, 1920, when, upon visiting her daughter at Lisbon and consulting counsel, she ascertained the extent and value of the deceased’s property, the probate proceedings had, and her right to exemptions. Further, she alleges that the administrator, the children, the attorney, and agents conspired to deprive her of a fair property settlement in the two agreements and by fraud and undue influence and misrepresentation conspired to prevent her from ascertaining the true facts, and, since the death of her husband, through undue influence prevented her from ascertaining and determining the true facts concerning the estate and her rights that she signed the exhibits through a mistake as to the legal effect of the same and without knowledge of the facts or of her rights; that, during the course of probate, she signed various documents through mistake as to their legal effect and meaning and without knowledge of the facts or of her rights; that she failed to claim her statutory exemptions through mistake and without knowledge of her rights; that the home received by her is not of greater value than $2,500. She demands that the agreements be declared null and void; that the final decree be opened and set aside; that her exemptions be legally set aside