Bergeron v. Bergeron

411 So. 2d 1183
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedMarch 9, 1982
Docket12352
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 411 So. 2d 1183 (Bergeron v. Bergeron) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bergeron v. Bergeron, 411 So. 2d 1183 (La. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

411 So.2d 1183 (1982)

Aud BERGERON
v.
Patrick BERGERON.

No. 12352.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 9, 1982.
Rehearing Denied April 16, 1982.

*1184 Gordon Hackman, Boutte, for plaintiff-appellee.

Steven F. Griffith, Sr., Destrehan, for defendant-appellant.

Before BOUTALL, CHEHARDY and KLIEBERT, JJ.

CHEHARDY, Judge.

Defendant, Patrick Bergeron, appeals a district court decision in favor of plaintiff, Aud Bergeron, wife of Patrick Bergeron (on behalf of her minor son, Chris), and against the defendant declaring that certain funds on deposit at American Bank of St. Charles Parish (totaling approximately $11,607.95) are the property of the minor, Chris Bergeron, and further holding that none of these monies is the separate property of Patrick Bergeron.

The judgment also decreed that it should be served upon the American Bank, which was ordered to make appropriate banking entries so that Chris Bergeron will have access to these funds at the time he reaches 18 years of age.

The record reflects that the plaintiff was formerly married to the defendant and the minor, Chris Bergeron, is their son. Mrs. Bergeron filed for legal separation on February 2, 1971 and obtained a legal separation in April of 1971. The plaintiff subsequently filed for divorce on July 9, 1973 and judgment was rendered on September 17, 1973, however, it neglected to rule that the plaintiff had also proved the allegations necessary for a final divorce. Therefore, such divorce was granted in favor of Aud Bergeron in a supplemental judgment on June 21, 1979.

On May 10, 1979, the plaintiff was recognized as natural tutrix of her child by the court and a temporary restraining order was issued against the American Bank's disposing of the monies in the subject bank account without further orders from the court. On January 28, 1980, the defendant moved to have the court order the subject funds deposited with American Bank withdrawn and placed in her name.

The passbook issued in connection with the subject account at the time it was opened lists the account with "Chris M. Bergeron Minor of Patrick J. Bergeron." The first deposit is shown as $500 and is dated May 8, 1973. Another deposit dated March 6, 1974 is listed as $8,604.21. With the exception of notations of interest, there was no activity in the form of deposits or withdrawals after that date. Also exhibited in the case were statements of the savings account under the name "Chris M. Bergeron—Minor or Patrick J. Bergeron," which the defendant testified were regularly sent to him in Michigan, his current home at the time of trial. The signature card also was filled out under the name of "Chris M. Bergeron, minor of Patrick J. Bergeron," and the type of account checked on that card was "minor" rather than "individual" or "joint."

It was stipulated by the parties that on February 14, 1974 a motion and order was signed by the court to vacate a previous injunction thereby allowing the parties to sell the community home.

Mrs. Bergeron stated that after the sale of the house she used her half of the proceeds to buy a trailer and she accompanied Patrick Bergeron to the bank where he deposited his share of the money, stating that it was for Chris' education and giving custody of the passbook to Mrs. Bergeron.

Patrick Bergeron testified that although he placed his funds from the sale of the *1185 community home in the account he did not intend to make a donation of the money to Chris at that time. He stated he did intend to make the donation at some future time if the child went to college, and he added he has been paying taxes on the interest earned in the account, although no proof of such was offered at trial. He said he placed the child's name on the account along with his own so that he, rather than the plaintiff, would receive the money in the event of the defendant's death. He said he also received periodic statements from the bank on the account and he was the only person authorized to make withdrawals. He admitted, however, that the plaintiff always retained custody of the passbook until June of the year before the trial, when he secured a duplicate.

Obviously it was a finding of fact on the part of the trial court judge that the defendant intended to donate the monies in the subject account to his son at the times he made the 1973 and 1974 deposits.

The validity and irrevocability of such an intended donation was addressed by the court in Allen v. Allen, 301 So.2d 417 (La. App. 2d Cir. 1974). In that case Mr. and Mrs. Allen had a savings account with a balance of over $700. The account was closed out and a few days later two accounts were opened in the names "Mr. or Mrs. Jack H. Allen as guardian of the estate of Jacqueline Melinda Allen" and "Mr. or Mrs. Jack H. Allen as guardian of the estate of Robin Leslie Allen," and funds were deposited therein by Mr. and Mrs. Allen. Either Mr. or Mrs. Allen had the authority to make withdrawals.

Over the years there were deposits made to the accounts by Mr. and Mrs. Allen from their earnings. Later the names on the accounts were changed to Mrs. Joyce R. Allen, custodian for Jacqueline Melinda Allen and Robin Leslie Allen under the Louisiana Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, and separate income tax returns were filed in the children's names showing interest income on the accounts. Mr. and Mrs. Allen testified the reasons for maintaining the accounts in the children's names were for tax purposes and to build a fund for the children's education. The appellant contended that there was no effective donation because the funds were not irrevocably vested in the donees as required by LSA-C.C. art. 1468, since the parents retained control and the right to withdraw funds. He also contended accounts are incorporeal rights which cannot be the subject of a manual gift but require authentic acts under LSA-C.C. art. 1536 as well as Succession of Grubbs, 170 So.2d 256 (La.App. 2d Cir. 1964), writ refused, 247 La. 409, 171 So.2d 666 (1965); Basco v. Central Bank & Trust Company, 231 So.2d 425 (La.App. 3d Cir. 1970); Succession of Dykes, 258 So.2d 606 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1972), writ refused, 261 La. 535, 260 So.2d 319 (La.1972); and Gibson v. Hearne, 164 La. 65, 113 So. 766 (La.1927).

In holding that the accounts were owned by the children and not assets of the former community of their parents, the court in the Allen case said:

"Pertinent to the issue presented are the following articles of the Civil Code:
`Art. 1468. A donation inter vivos (between living persons) is an act by which the donor divests himself, at present and irrevocably, of the thing given, in favor of the donee who accepts it.'
`Art. 1536. An act shall be passed before a notary public and two witnesses of every donation inter vivos of immovable property or incorporeal things, such as rents, credits, rights or actions, under the penalty of nullity.'
`Art. 1538. A donation inter vivos, even of movable effects, will not be valid, unless an act be passed of the same, as is before prescribed.
`Such an act ought to contain a detailed estimate of the effects given.'
`Art. 1539. The manual gift, that is, the giving of corporeal movable effects, accompanied by a real delivery, is not subject to any formality.'
`Art. 1541. Yet, if the donation has been executed, that is, if the donee has been put by the donor into corporeal *1186

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Bluebook (online)
411 So. 2d 1183, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bergeron-v-bergeron-lactapp-1982.