Knoche v. Morgan, 82CA0813
| Decision Date | 10 March 1983 |
| Docket Number | No. 82CA0813,82CA0813 |
| Citation | 664 P.2d 258 |
| Parties | Irene P. KNOCHE, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ruth MORGAN, Defendant-Appellant. . I |
| Court | Colorado Court of Appeals |
Harshman, Deister, Larson & McBee, Douglas E. Larson, Grand Junction, for plaintiff-appellee.
Dufford, Waldeck, Ruland, Wise & Milburn, William H.T. Frey, Grand Junction, for defendant-appellant.
In this action to quiet title and to set aside a deed, defendant, Ruth Morgan, appeals the trial court's summary judgment entered in favor of plaintiff, Irene P. Knoche. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
The following material facts are undisputed. On July 20, 1959, plaintiff and her husband, Richard, purchased the property in question as joint tenants. On August 5, 1965, plaintiff filed a homestead declaration pursuant to the predecessor of § 38-41-202, C.R.S.1973 (1982 Repl.Vol. 16A). On November 21, 1980, Richard Knoche executed a general warranty deed purporting to convey one-half interest in the subject property to defendant, his daughter. On March 5, 1981, Richard died.
In answer to plaintiff's complaint, defendant asserted the affirmative defense of abandonment and filed a counterclaim seeking reimbursement for costs expended for preserving the property. Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the grounds that the 1980 deed was void. Defendant filed a cross-motion for summary judgment, asserting that the 1980 deed severed the joint tenancy and, therefore, prevented plaintiff from acquiring title to the property as a surviving joint tenant. The trial court granted plaintiff's motion, denied defendant's cross-motion, and dismissed defendant's counterclaim.
Defendant first asserts that material issues of fact remain for resolution and, alternatively, that as a matter of law the 1980 deed severed the joint tenancy between Richard Knoche and plaintiff. We disagree.
The undisputed facts here were sufficient to permit the trial court to rule that the 1980 warranty deed was void and of no effect. Section 38-41-202(4), C.R.S.1973 (1982 Repl. Vol. 16A), renders void any attempt by one of two joint tenants of properly homesteaded property to destroy the joint tenancy by unilateral conveyance. Wise v. Thomas, 117 Colo. 376, 188 P.2d 444 (1947). The material facts respecting that issue are not disputed. Thus, the trial court properly entered a summary judgment. C.R.C.P. 56; Abrahamsen v. Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph, 177 Colo. 422, 494 P.2d 1287 (1972).
Defendant alternatively argues that the very existence of the 1980 deed is sufficient evidence of Richard Knoche's intent to dissolve the joint tenancy to demonstrate conclusively that the joint tenancy was severed. In circumstances not involving homesteaded property, the existence of a deed executed by one joint tenant to a third party may be sufficient evidence, if not rebutted, to establish the severance of the joint tenancy. See, e.g., First National Bank v. Energy Fuels Corp., 200 Colo. 540, 618 P.2d 1115 (1980...
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Estate of Knickerbocker, In re
...to convey to a strawman to sever a joint tenancy, see, e.g., Durant v. Hamrick, 409 So.2d 731, 734-35 (Ala.1981); Knoche v. Morgan, 664 P.2d 258, 259 (Colo.Ct.App.1983); Ianotti v. Ciccio, 219 Conn. 36, 591 A.2d 797, 803-04 (1991); Rotert v. Faulkner, 660 S.W.2d 463, 469 (Mo.Ct.App.1983), w......
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...the Legislature has decreed, as evidenced by the language of the statute. [¶ 9.] Ethel argues that the Colorado case of Knoche v. Morgan, 664 P.2d 258 (Colo.Ct.App.1983), supports her interpretation of SDCL 43-31-17. In Knoche, the court stated that a statute similar to SDCL 43-31-17 "rende......
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Commercial Factors of Denver v. Clarke & Waggener
...that he owns. See Sanders v. Knapp, 674 P.2d 385 (Colo.App.1983). Wise v. Thomas, 117 Colo. 376, 188 P.2d 444 (1947), and Knoche v. Morgan, 664 P.2d 258 (Colo.App.1983) are inapposite. In both a homestead declaration had been filed or entered on the margin of the record of the Commercial's ......
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