Still v. Banktrust
| Decision Date | 17 June 2011 |
| Docket Number | 2100285 |
| Parties | Ronnie Lamar Still and Sandra Gilliland v. BankTrust, f/k/a BancTrust Company, Inc. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Civil Appeals |
Notice: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the advance sheets of Southern Reporter. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of Decisions, Alabama Appellate Courts, 300 Dexter Avenue, Montgomery, Alabama 36104-3741 ((334) 229-0649), of any typographical or other errors, in order that corrections may be made before the opinion is printed in Southern Reporter.
Appeal from Escambia Circuit Court
(CV-09-45)
Ronnie Lamar Still and Sandra Gilliland ("the contestants") appeal from a summary judgment entered by the Escambia Circuit Court ("the circuit court") on their actioncontesting a will and seeking to set aside certain inter vivos transfers. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
On December 3, 2008, BankTrust, formerly known as BancTrust Company, Inc. ("BankTrust"), filed a petition in the Escambia Probate Court to probate the will of John L. Still (hereinafter referred to as "Still" or "the decedent"). The decedent's will directed that all the decedent's property be conveyed to the John L. Still 200 6 Revocable Trust ("the trust"). BancTrust Company, Inc., was named as the personal representative of the estate. BancTrust Company, Inc., was also named as the trustee of the trust. The trust was for the benefit of Still during his lifetime, with the remainder to be conveyed to the Greater Brewton Foundation ("the foundation"), a charitable organization, upon Still's death. The probate court set a hearing on BankTrust's petition to probate the will for January 6, 200 9, and, on that day, it entered an order admitting the will to probate and an order granting letters testamentary to BankTrust.
On March 6, 2009, the contestants, Still's niece and nephew, filed in the circuit court a complaint contesting thewill and requesting that Still's inter vivos transfers to the trust be set aside. The contestants alleged that Still had lacked testamentary capacity to make the will and that the will had been procured by undue influence. With regard to the inter vivos transfers, the contestants alleged, among other things, that Still had been of unsound mind when the transfers were made and that the transfers had been procured through undue influence.1
After BankTrust filed a motion for a more definite statement and that motion was granted, the contestants filed an amended complaint on June 5, 2009 . In the amended complaint, the contestants specified that they were challenging the transfer of Still's house to the trust by way of a deed executed on June 1, 2006, as well as "other inter vivos transfers." BankTrust answered the complaint on June 18, 2009; it also counterclaimed for attorneys fees and costs, pursuant to §§ 12-19-272 and 43-8-196, Ala. Code 1975. OnJuly 17, 2009, the contestants filed an answer to BankTrust's counterclaim.
On March 22, 2010, BankTrust filed a motion for a summary judgment on all the contestants' claims, as well as evidentiary materials in support of its motion. On May 19, 2010, the contestants filed a brief and evidentiary submissions in opposition to the summary-judgment motion. On May 28, 2010, the contestants filed a supplemental brief and evidentiary materials. That same day, BankTrust filed a letter brief in support of its summary-judgment motion. On June 29, 2010, the circuit court entered an order granting BankTrust's summary-judgment motion as to the claims that were based on allegations of undue influence and denying BankTrust's summary-judgment motion as to the claims that were based on allegations of Still's lack of testamentary capacity and that he had been of unsound mind. On July 12, 2010, BankTrust filed a motion to reconsider the partial denial of its summary-judgment motion, along with supporting evidentiary submissions. On August 16, 2010, the contestants filed a brief in opposition to the motion to reconsider. On August 30, 2010, the circuit court entered a summary judgment on thecontestants' claims that were based on allegations of Still's lack of testamentary capacity and that he had been of unsound mind. The circuit court specifically found that the testimony did not establish that Still had suffered from a permanent or chronic dementia so as to preclude his execution of the documents and that the contestants' witnesses had not been present when Still executed the documents. On September 28, 2010, the contestants filed a "motion to reconsider" or for a new trial; that motion was denied on November 15, 2010.2 The contestants filed their notice of appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court on December 20, 2010; that court transferred the appeal to this court, pursuant to § 12-2-7(6), Ala. Code 1975, on January 3, 2011.
Before his retirement, Still was a loan officer for BancTrust Company, Inc. Raymond F. Lynn, Jr., a trust officer for BankTrust, testified in his affidavit that, in April 2006, Still contacted him to discuss his financial affairs, including his need for a trust. Lynn stated that he and Christy A. Black, another trust officer for BankTrust, went to Still's residence to discuss those matters. Lynn testified that Still decided to create a trust for his benefit during his lifetime. According to Lynn, they also discussed the need for a limited power of attorney so that the bank could transfer funds from Still's individual retirement account ("IRA") and sell assets to fund the trust as needed.
Lynn testified that he had asked Still what provision he wanted to make for the remainder of the trust after he died and that Still had stated that he had "done enough" for his family and that he wanted to leave it to charity. According to Lynn, they discussed various charities and Still indicated he was considering leaving a portion of his estate to his church. Lynn and Black both stated in their affidavits that Still had stated that his attorney, Everette Price, wasseriously ill and that Still had therefore asked Lynn to contact Broox G. Garrett, Jr., an attorney whose firm had been local retained counsel for BankTrust, to draft the necessary documents. Lynn stated that he contacted Garrett, who agreed to meet with Still.
Lynn stated that he, Black, and Garrett met with Still in the latter part of April 2006. Garrett testified in his affidavit that he had a lengthy conversation with Still about his desire to establish a revocable trust with BankTrust as the trustee and to dispose of the remainder of his estate after his death. According to Garrett, Lynn, and Black, Still decided to leave the remainder of his estate to the foundation and not his church. Lynn stated that Still had directed Garrett to prepare trust documents and a will and that Still executed both the trust documents and the will on May 17, 2006. Lynn, Garrett, and Black were all present when Still executed the documents. Black notarized the documents, and Lynn and Garrett served as witnesses to the execution of the will. According to Garrett, at the direction of Still, he also drafted a deed conveying Still's home to the trust and reserving a life estate for Still. Black testified that Stillexecuted the deed on June 1, 2006, and that she notarized the deed.
Lynn testified that Still had been his friend and colleague for over 30 years and that Still was of sound mind during all the discussions that were had about the trust and the disposition of his estate as well as when he executed the trust documents and the will. Lynn further testified that Still executed the trust documents and the will freely and without interference from any party. Black testified that she had worked with Still regularly for over five years. Specifically, she testified that she had managed an agency account for Still, which had been funded from his IRA from time to time to pay for certain expenses relating to his home. She testified that Still had handled all of his other financial matters himself and had also managed his own checking account. Black testified that Still was of sound mind at the time he executed all the documents and that he had done so voluntarily and with full knowledge of the contents of each document. Garrett testified that he had been acquainted with Still for approximately 35 years and that, during their discussions of the trust and the disposition of his estate,and at the time of the execution of the trust documents and the will, Still was of sound mind and executed the documents freely. Garrett further testified in his deposition that he went over the documents with Still in layman's terms and that he had no doubt that Still understood the terms of the trust. Garrett also testified in his deposition that Still had stated that he had done all that he intended to do for his nieces and nephews.
Sandra Gilliland, Still's niece, testified in her affidavit that she had known Still her entire life. She testified that, because she and Still had lived in the same town, they were especially close during the last years of Still's life. Richard Gilliland, Sandra's husband, testified that he also had been close to Still. According to Sandra and Richard, in 2001, Still was diagnosed with cancer and underwent brain surgery. Sandra and Richard testified that Still's health and mind began to deteriorate at that time. They stated that Still's condition was so dire that, beginning in early 2006, he was unable to live at home by himself, so he was placed in the "Holley House."3 Both Sandra and Richardstated that, from their personal observations, they did not believe that, on May 17, 2006, Still could have possibly been aware of and could have sufficiently recalled the extent of his property and other assets or the names and locations of his living relatives, and they did not believe that Still could have understood the nature and consequences of executing a will and complicated trust documents.
Riley Edwards...
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