Page:North Dakota Reports (vol. 2).pdf/291

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FORE v FORE.
265

and which has not been sold on judicial sale, and to which the survivor has relinquished no rights. See Id § 2440 And this share is not affected by will, unless the survivor consents thereto. Id § 2452. There is nothing in our law corresponding with §§ 2008, 2440, and 2452 of the Iowa Code. Under those statutes the right of the survivor to possess and occupy the homestead for life has been repeatedly declared. Floyd v. Mosier, 1 Iowa 512; Burns v. Keas, 21 Iowa 257; Size v. Size, 24 Iowa 580; Meyers v. Meyers, 23 Iowa 359; Butterfield v. Wicks, 44 Iowa 310; Mahaffy v. Mahaffy, 63 Iowa 55,18 N. W. Rep. 685. And it has also been held that during such occupancy the heirs cannot interfere therewith, nor claim partition. Nicholas v. Purczell, 21 Iowa 265; Dodds v. Dodds, 26 Iowa 31L But it has also been held that such occupancy cannot be claimed in addition to the distributive share. Meyer v. Meyer, supra; Butterfield v. Wicks, supra; Smith v, Zuckmeyer, 58 Iowa 14, 3 N. W. Rep. 782. The survivor holds this distributive share exempt from the debts of the decedent. Mock v. Watson, 41 Iowa 244; Kerfdall v. Kendall, 42 Iowa 464; Thomas v. Thomas, 73 Iowa 657, 35 N. W. Rep. 693. The supreme court of Iowa, under these statutes, hold that, while the survivor is entitled to occupy the homestead for a reasonable time in which to make a selection between a life-estate in the homestead and the distributive share provided by law (Cunningham v. Gamble, 57 Iowa 46, 10 N. W. Rep. 278), yet continued occupancy of the homestead will be held an election to take the homestead for life (Conn v. Conn, 58 Iowa 747, 13 N. W. Rep. 51; Butterfield v. Wicks, supra; Holbrook v. Perry, 66 Iowa 286, 23 N. W. Rep. 671.) By § 2455, Code Iowa, it is provided that, if the intestate leave no issue, one-half of his estate shall go to his family and the other half to his widow. In Burns v. Keas, supra, it was held that in such case the widow takes one-third of her distributive share and one-sixth as heir; and in Smith v. Zuckmeyer, supra, it is held that in such a case, where the survivor elects to hold the homestead for life, he thereby surrendered the one-third or distributive share only, and that, as to the fraction which he took as heir, it was not affected by his continuous possession of the homestead.