Briscoe v. Briscoe

• Decision Date: 16 October 1928
• Citation: 225 Ky. 804,10 S.W.2d 294
• Parties: BRISCOE et al. v. BRISCOE et ux.
• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals

10 S.W.2d 294

225 Ky. 804

BRISCOE et al. v. BRISCOE et ux.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky

October 16, 1928

Appeal from Circuit Court, Scott County.

Suit by Allie P. Briscoe and others against Bryan Briscoe and wife. From the judgment, plaintiffs appeal. Affirmed.

Ford &amp Ford, of Georgetown, for appellants.

Llewellyn F. Sinclair, of Georgetown, for appellees.

LOGAN J.

Laura C. Briscoe died in April, 1926, at the age of 73 years, and left surviving her three children, Bryan Briscoe, Allie P Briscoe, and Lorena B. Cook. The husband of Laura C. Briscoe departed this life about 15 years before her death. Thereafter she resided with her two sons in Georgetown. Lorena married and moved to Lexington. At the time of her husband's death, Mrs. Briscoe owned three tracts of land in Scott county, one containing about 13 acres, another about 55 acres and another about 223 acres. There appears to be some disagreement as to whether she owned the last-mentioned tract in fee or only two-thirds of it in fee and a life interest in the remaining one-third, but that question is not material to the issue raised in this case.

Mrs Briscoe appears from the evidence offered by the appellants to have been a frail woman, suffering with infirmities which increased with her advancing years. The appellee Bryan Briscoe appears to have been the head of the household after the death of his father. In fact there is some evidence that he had been such for some years prior to the death of his father. Bryan looked after the management and control of the property belonging to his mother for many years. So far as this record discloses there was no disagreement among the family, as he managed the property of his mother, provided for the family, paid the bills, and maintained a general supervision over the affairs of the household.

After the death of the mother, the two sons continued to live together at the home which had been occupied by them for many years until February, 1927, when Bryan married. The personal property belonging to the estate was then divided among the three children. It is claimed by Allie and Lorena that they then for the first time discovered that their mother had, on July 16, 1923, conveyed to Bryan the 13-acre tract of land for a recited consideration of $1 and other good and valuable considerations, and that on August 9, 1923, she had conveyed to him the 55-acre tract for the recited consideration of $1,356.20, and at the same time she had conveyed to him her life estate in the 223-acre tract. Immediately thereafter which was two days after Bryan married, this suit was instituted against the appellee seeking to have the deeds set aside on the grounds that they were procured by Bryan for an inadequate consideration at a time when his mother, owing to physical infirmities and illness, was not mentally competent to make a deed, and because of undue influence and fraud practiced upon her by her son Bryan. The chancellor denied the prayer of the petition.

The argument is advanced by counsel for appellants that this court has uniformly held that, when confidential relations exist, the burden is upon the defendant to show that the transaction was entirely free from any inequitable incidents. It is true that the law looks with suspicion upon a transaction between persons sustaining confidential relations towards each other, and the burden is on the person receiving property under such circumstances to establish that the transaction was freely and voluntarily entered into, that it was fair and equitable, and that the one making the conveyance was mentally competent to understand the nature of the transaction. These principles are well set out in many cases, among which may be mentioned Davidson v. Davidson, 180 Ky. 190, 202 S.W. 493; Kelly v. Fields, 167 Ky. 796, 181 S.W. 657; Smith v. Snowden, 96 Ky. 32, 27 S.W. 855, 16 Ky. Law Rep. 353; Shacklette v. Goodall, 151 Ky. 20, 151 S.W. 23; Howell v. Howell's Adm'r, 189 Ky. 556, 225 S.W. 477; Roberts v. Parsons, 195 Ky. 274, 242 S.W. 594; Watson v. Watson, 190 Ky. 270, 227 S.W. 270; Thompson v. Thompson, 209 Ky. 677, 273 S.W. 522; Price v. Meade, 182 Ky. 814, 207 S.W. 697.

We have no desire to depart from the principles announced in these cases, and the only question before us here is to determine whether the facts and circumstances appearing of record show that appellee Bryan Briscoe has met the burden of proof as required in the cases cited. The case therefore turns on a question of fact.

The evidence for the plaintiff goes no further than to show that Mrs. Briscoe was a frail woman, sick much of the time, and that she had been suffering with tuberculosis for some years prior to her death. Some of these witnesses stated that, in their judgment, owing to her weakened physical condition, she was not capable of transacting her business. The evidence of the witnesses offered by appellants tends to show that she was a woman who remained at home nearly all the time, and that she had little, if anything, to do with her own business affairs. There is no evidence of undue influence. It is true there is evidence that Bryan looked after the affairs of his mothe...