MacDonald v. Goff

• Decision Date: 07 July 1952
• Citation: 107 N.E.2d 198,329 Mass. 220
• Parties: MacDONALD v. GOFF et al.
• Court: United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts Supreme Court

Page 198

107 N.E.2d 198

329 Mass. 220

MacDONALD v. GOFF et al.

Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, Essex.

Argued May 6, 1952.

Decided July 7, 1952.

S. H. Malinow and J. M. Fogarty, Lynn, for the defendant Malinow, administrator, submitted a brief.

R. L. Sisk, Lynn, for the plaintiff.

J. H. Ramsey, Boston, for defendant Luke L. Goff.

Before QUA, C. J., and LUMMUS, RONAN, WILKINS and SPALDING, JJ.

SPALDING, Justice.

These appeals bring to this court for the third time questions arising out of the estate of Martin G. Gough. The prior litigation is reported in MacDonald v. Gough, 326 Mass. 93, 93 N.E.2d 260, and 327 Mass. 739, 101 N.E.2d 124. The present suit was brought by Margaret MacDonald to establish her right to certain real and personal property. The defendants are the heirs at law of Martin G. Gough and Mr. Melinow, the administrator of Gough's estate.

While this suit was pending a decree was entered in an earlier suit which ordered the distribution of some of the assets described in the present bill to Luke Goff as trustee under an indenture hereinafter discussed. Accordingly the plaintiff made no further claim to those assets and sought only to establish her right to a certain bank account (hereinafter referred to as the 'special' account) in the Boston Federal Savings and Loan Association.

The findings of the master, to whom the case was referred under the usual rule, included the following: Martin G. Gough (hereinafter called Gough) lived with the plaintiff Margaret MacDonald, also known as Margaret Gough, as husband and wife from 1934 until his death, intestate, on July 27, 1948. During that period the plaintiff entrusted considerable sums of money to Gough to save and invest for her. The plaintiff regarded him as 'her agent or trustee' and relied on him completely. Gough traded extensively in the stock market, but his records of investments made on the plaintiff's behalf were incomplete. On January 31, 1940, Gough opened two savings accounts with the defendant Boston Federal Savings and Loan Association. One was in the name of 'Martin G. Gough, Special,' and the other was in the name of 'Martin G. Gough.' About two weeks later, after his brother Luke L. Goff had signed a signature card at the bank, Gough transferred the latter account into the names of 'Martin G. Gough or Luke L. Goff.' This account will be referred to hereinafter as the joint account. In 1946 Gough stated that the 'special' account belonged to the plaintiff and made representations which led her to believe that the joint account was also hers. Subsequently he told her that if 'Luke behaved all right he would give it [the joint account] to him and if he didn't he would keep it for himself.' The plaintiff found the joint account book in Gough's office about four months after his death. The 'special' account book has been in her possession since 1946. Gough's heirs at law, Luke L. Goff, James H. Gough and Frank J. Gough, did not learn of these accounts until sometime in 1950.

To avoid litigation the heirs at law executed a written agreement on August 16, 1948, authorizing Luke to negotiate with the plaintiff and settle any claims that she might have against Gough's estate. On August 18, 1948, Luke negotiated a settlement with the plaintiff whereby the heirs at law agreed to transfer the net assets of the estate to Luke in trust to pay $195 monthly to the plaintiff for life, with gifts over which need not concern us. The plaintiff agreed 'to waive all her rights and claims of every kind and nature which she has or has had against the said Martin G. Gough or against his estate, and to assign and convey whatever stock is now in any valult or safe deposit box standing in her name, excepting therefrom, 282 shares Remington Rand common, to said Luke L. Goff as trustee, for the purpose aforementioned and specifically waives any rights she has in any will or codicil thereto executed by said Martin G. Gough, and any statutory rights she may have in and to * * * [his] estate * * * and to sign any instruments or papers necessary to accomplish the administration of * * * [his] estate * * * and the creation of said trust.' A trust indenture carrying out the terms of the foregoing agreement was subsequently entered into by the parties.

'Upon all the evidence' the master found that the joint account became Luke's property upon Gough's death. He also found that the fund in the 'special' account 'is the money of * * * [the plaintiff] deposited * * * for her by Martin G. Gough,' leaving for the court's determination the question of the effect of the agreement of August 18, 1948. The master's report was confirmed by an interlocutory decree. The final decree, so far as material, ordered payment of the 'special' account to the plaintiff and adjudicated that the plaintiff was not entitled to the joint account. The decree, however, did not dispose of the counterclaims. ¹ Luke and the administrator appealed.

We are of opinion that the final decree was erroneous in failing to order the payment of the 'special' account to the administrator. Eventually, of course, this will pass to Luke as trustee under the indenture described above, but he receives as trustee 'the net assets of said estate as soon as said administration has been completed' and we infer that this has no occurred. The agreement of August 18, 1948, unequivocally provided that the plaintiff waives 'all her rights...