Teter v. Teter
| Decision Date | 17 April 1906 |
| Parties | TETER v. TETER et al. |
| Court | West Virginia Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court.
In a suit, brought by a son after the death of his father, to set aside, for mental incompetency and undue influence, deeds made by the father, while aged, infirm, and feeble in mind by which he had granted the whole of his real estate to his wife and a daughter who resided with him, to the exclusion of his other children, all of whom were of mature age, married and residing elsewhere, the burden of proving both undue influence, and mental incompetency is upon the plaintiff.
Mere infirmity of mind and body is not sufficient to overcome the legal presumption of mental capacity in a grantor. In order to have such effect, the evidence must show that he did not have sufficient understanding to clearly comprehend the nature of the business he was transacting.
On the question of the competency of a grantor to execute a deed the value of the opinions of nonexpert witnesses, who have had opportunity to form intelligent opinions, respecting his competency, depends upon the reasons therefor afforded by the facts upon which they are predicated, as stated by the witnesses. Where the opportunities of such witness to obtain knowledge of the grantor's mental condition have been but slight, and the facts given are meager, such evidence is entitled to but little weight.
Old age, physical infirmity and disease, and feebleness of intellect, on the part of a grantor, together with the fact that he granted the whole of his estate to his wife and one daughter, who resided with him and upon whom he was dependent for personal care and attention, to the exclusion of all his other children, raise no legal presumption of undue influence. They are only circumstances slightly tending to establish it.
That in such case the disposition made of the grantor's property is wholly different from what had previously been intended as shown by a will executed by him at an earlier date, is a circumstance from which undue influence may, under certain conditions, be inferred; but if it further appeared that at the time of the execution of the deed proceedings were pending for the enforcement of liens upon the grantor's real estate, for the discharge of which no funds were at hand or within reach, and that such indebtedness weighed heavily upon his mind at the time of the execution of both the will and the deed, this circumstance, together with other facts set out in detail in the opinion in the case, affords ground for a strong inference to the contrary.
Appeal from Circuit Court, Barbour County.
Bill by W. W. Teter, trustee, against Elizabeth Teter and others. Decree for defendants, and complainant appeals. Affirmed.
E. D. Talbott and J. Blackburn Ware, for appellant.
Fred O. Blue, for appellees.
From a decree of the circuit court of Barbour county, pronounced May 25, 1904, dismissing a bill in equity in a suit instituted for the cancellation of two deeds, the plaintiff in said bill, W. W. Teter, trustee, has appealed. The deeds in question bore date, respectively, May 1, 1901, and May 13, 1901, the first one of which, executed by Jesse Teter, purported to convey all of his real estate to his wife, Elizabeth Teter, and his daughter, Mertie E. Teter, in consideration of constant services rendered to him and other good and valuable considerations, not named, and the other of which, executed by Jesse Teter, Elizabeth Teter, and Mertie Teter, conveyed to the Valley Coal & Coke Company, a corporation, the coal under three tracts of said land, containing, respectively, 165 1/2 acres, 26.77 acres, and 4.93 acres. The grounds for cancellation set up in the bill are mental weakness and incompetency on the part of the grantor, and undue influence exerted upon him, in obtaining the execution of the deeds, by his wife and daughter, Mertie, a married daughter, Mrs. Ida M. Huff, and her husband, Dr. M. M. Huff. The issue thus presented very naturally brought into the record, in addition to the opinions of witnesses respecting the mental competency of the grantor, his situation and circumstances. Besides the two daughters, he had three other living children, the plaintiff, W. W. Teter, Floyd Teter, and Thomas Benton Teter, all of whom had reached mature manhood and had left his home. Of his family, there remained with him only the wife and the daughter, Mertie E. Teter. Mrs. Huff and her husband lived some 18 miles away at the town of Philippi. His home farm consisted of a tract of 250 acres of land, in addition to which he owned the three tracts above mentioned, situated on Zebb's creek, in Barbour county, and an interest in a 300-acre tract of timber land, known as the "Lime Hill Farm," and some other real property. It seems that the larger part of the Zebb's creek land, particularly the 168 acres, described in the deed conveying the coal as containing 165 1/2 acres, and a 19-acre tract adjoining it, had at one time belonged to said W. W. Teter, from whom it was sold in 1895, in a creditors' suit brought by the father, Jesse Teter, and purchased by him at the sale; the son, W. W. Teter having been unfortunate in business and lost all his property. Some advancements seem to have been made to Thomas Benton Teter, but nothing to Floyd Teter or Mrs. Huff, so far as the record shows. Jesse Teter, however, by reason of indorsements from time to time, became liable for debts of Dr. M. M. Huff in considerable amounts, for which judgments had been taken which constituted liens upon the land. In the year 1896 Teter was stricken with paralysis, which seems to have disabled him for some time and from which he never fully recovered. His purchase of the W. W. Teter land seems to have antedated this misfortune by about a year. Some time afterwards, August 22, 1896, he executed a will by which he gave the home place and some other property to Mrs. Huff, Mertie E. Teter, and Floyd Teter. He also gave to Mertie Teter a 26-acre tract of the Zebb's creek land, and to Thomas Benton Teter 5 acres of land on Zebb's creek, in trust for the benefit of his children, explaining that the gift was in addition to advancements he had previously made to said son. The other Zebb's creek land he devised to his son, W. W. Teter, "as trustee *** to be used in the maintenance, education, and support of the children and heirs of his body by his beloved wife, Mattie V. Teter," and authorized and directed his said son, as such trustee, "to use said lands in whatsoever manner or form he may deem most fit in the maintenance, education, and support of his said children," and further authorized him to make sale of the lands and convert them into money or bonds, and use the proceeds for the purposes aforesaid. Some time in the year 1897 he was afflicted with another stroke of paralysis which, for a time, it was thought, would be fatal; but he rallied from that to some extent. On the 1st day of May, 1901, he executed the deed first above mentioned, whereby he conveyed all his real estate to his wife and the daughter, Mertie. Immediately afterwards the coal in the Zebb's creek land was conveyed as aforesaid. He died in September, 1901, aged 78 years. At the time of the execution of these deeds there was a suit in equity pending against him for the subjection of his real estate to the payment of judgment liens, but for what amount the record does not accurately disclose. During the period of his sickness he was attended by the son-in-law, Dr. M. M. Huff, who resided, as above stated, at Philippi, a place distant from Teter's residence about 18 miles, although there were other physicians residing in the neighborhood whose services could have been procured. Dr. Huff, his wife, Mertie Teter, and Elizabeth Teter, were the only persons who were with him, to any considerable extent, at his home, from the time at which he received his first stroke of paralysis until he died. The three sons and some of the grandchildren were there occasionally, as were other persons. The deed of May 1, 1901, instead of being admitted to record, was put into the custody of Dr. Huff, who retained it until after the grantor's death. It was admitted to record January 13, 1902.
The evidence relating to the physical and mental condition of Jesse Teter, from 1896 until the time of the execution of these deeds, seems to fairly establish the following facts After the first stroke of paralysis, his physical health was very much impaired, and he had difficulty in speaking because the use of his tongue was affected. From that time he never had his former mental vigor and capacity. His mind seemed to wander, so that he was at times unable to pursue a given subject in conversation, and occasionally he did things which indicated insanity. The condition of his mind seems not to have been uniform, for the statements of the witnesses who saw him at different times vary somewhat, not only in expressions of opinion as to his mental condition, but in descriptions of his conduct also. After the second stroke, which occurred in 1897, his condition, both physical and mental, was probably worse than it was between that date and the date of his first stroke; but after that he still went from home occasionally unattended, and transacted some unimportant business. Witnesses testify to having gone to his home to see him on business, relating to his lands, and to his having been away from home on business. As to the preparation and execution of the deed of May 1, 1901, the evidence fairly establishes these facts: Jesse Teter did not participate extensively in the preparation of it. What directions he may have given, or whether he gave any, is not disclosed, except by the evidence of Dr. Huff. It was prepared at his...
To continue reading
Request your trial