Childers v. Breese

1949 OK 201, 213 P.2d 565, 202 Okla. 377, 1949 Okla. LEXIS 485
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 4, 1949
DocketNo. 33436
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 1949 OK 201 (Childers v. Breese) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Childers v. Breese, 1949 OK 201, 213 P.2d 565, 202 Okla. 377, 1949 Okla. LEXIS 485 (Okla. 1949).

Opinion

CORN, J.

Plaintiff, as named beneficiary, brought suit to recover upon a life insurance policy issued by defendant, the Prudential Insurance Company of America, to Geraldine G. Breese, who died July 8, 1946. Plaintiff later applied to have Pamela Sue Breese, deceased’s infant daughter and former beneficiary under the policy, made a party defendant.

Through her guardian ad litem the infant filed answer denying plaintiff was entitled to the proceeds of the policy; and by cross-petition alleged she was entitled to the proceeds because insured, her mother, had purchased same for her benefit.

Thereafter, upon proper application, Ralph Breese, paternal grandfather and guardian of this minor, filed a petition in intervention alleging the insured’s death; that plaintiff was the named beneficiary pursuant to an agreement with deceased that, in the event of death, plaintiff would hold the proceeds of the policy in trust for the infant intervener, and that plaintiff had been named beneficiary of the policy only because of such promise and agreement. Further, that plaintiff had procured a county court order adopting the infant prior to insured’s death, but left the child in the care of others, and the county court thereafter revoked the adoption because plaintiff had misrepresented matters in her petition for adoption, and had stated that she wanted to use the money for the care and maintenance of the child, when it was the adoptive parent’s duty [378]*378to maintain the child during minority. Petitioner asked the court to decree the proceeds of the policy to constitute a trust for such infant’s benefit, and that defendant be directed to pay same to the petitioner as guardian, to be administered for the child’s benefit, and that plaintiff be barred from asserting any claim or interest therein.

Defendant’s answer admitted issuance of, and liability under the policy, and tendered the proceeds ($2,000) into court, requesting an order discharging the company from further liability, which motion was granted and the order entered.

Plaintiff’s answer to the petition in intervention admitted petitioner was the grandfather and duly appointed guardian of the minor, and that insured died leaving a policy of insurance wherein plaintiff was the named beneficiary, but denied generally the other allegations of the petition. Her reply to the intervener’s answer, and answer to the cross-petition made general denial of the allegations contained therein, and upon the issues so presented the cause was tried to a jury.

The evidence established that the insured, a widow, purchased the policy August 21, 1944, naming as beneficiary her daughter, then approximately a year old, directing payment in monthly installments of $50. Thereafter insured became seriously ill and upon being advised of the probable fatal nature of her illness discussed with plaintiff the future care of her child. As an outgrowth of such conversations plaintiff sought and procured an order of adoption from the county court. Thereafter insured executed the change of beneficiary, directing lump sum payment to plaintiff.

In revoking the order of adoption the county court found plaintiff had never had care and custody of the child and had neglected to provide care and support, and had testified that she intended to expend the money for the minor’s support.

Plaintiff testified that after the insured had been advised that she probably could not recover from her illness, they discussed what would be done with the child after her death, and that in pursuance of such conversations plaintiff applied for adoption of the child, and that shortly thereafter application for change of beneficiary of the policy was made, although plaintiff was not present when this was done.

After hearing the evidence and receiving the trial court’s instructions the jury returned a verdict finding the issues for the intervener and judgment was rendered thereon. Upon appeal the assignments of error relied upon by plaintiff for reversal of the judgment are presented under two propositions.

Defendant first contends that the evidence herein was insufficient to prove an express trust. As an abstract proposition this is to be conceded, since an express trust is said to come into' being only upon execution of an intention to create it by the party having the legal and equitable control of the subject matter of the trust. See 54 Am. Jur., Trusts, section 5; McCoy v. McCoy, 30 Okla. 379, 121 P. 176, Ann. Cas. 1913 C, 146. And see 54 Am. Jur., Trusts, section 30, as to the essential requisites of a valid, express trust. And, in Bryant et al. v. Mahan, 130 Okla. 67, 264, P. 811, paragraph 1 of the syllabus states:

“To constitute an ‘express trust’ there must be some act, on the part of the cestui que trust, expressive of an intent to create a trust and to designate some one as trustee. A ‘resulting trust’ arises where, from the condition of facts existing, regardless of any intent on the part of the beneficiary, the law presumes a trust.”

The' equity rule is that:

“ ‘Express trusts’ are generally created by instruments that point out directly and expressly the property, persons, and purpose of the trust; hence, they are called direct or express trusts in contradistinction from those trusts that [379]*379are implied, presumed, or construed by law to arise out of the transactions of the parties.”

However, the intervener’s pleadings were framed upon the theory that the insured’s intention, to be inferred from the surrounding circumstances, was to place legal title to the proceeds of the policy in plaintiff for the benefit of the infant daughter. In this manner the case was presented upon the theory of a resulting trust, and this issue was presented to the jury under the instructions of the court.

A resulting trust is one of the classes of trusts, which arise by operation of law and may exist where an express trust could not exist, since it may arise without being created in writing, being based upon presumption or inference of law and not upon expression of the trustor’s intention. See 54 Am. Jur. Trusts, §186 et seq; Crane v. Owens, 180 Okla. 452, 69 P. 2d 654; Courts v. Aldridge, 190 Okla. 29, 120 P. 2d 632. Such trusts are not within the statute of frauds. McGill v. McGill, 189 Okla. 3, 113 P. 2d 826.

In 54 Am. Jur., Trusts, §196, it is said:

“The doctrine of resulting trusts is a familiar one in equity jurisprudence. Most broadly speaking, a resulting trust arises from the nature or circumstances of consideration involved in a transaction whereby one person thereby becomes invested with a legal title but is obligated in equity to hold his legal title for the benefit of another, the intention of the former to hold in trust for the latter being implied or presumed as a matter of law, although no intention to create or hold in trust has been manifested, expressly or by inference, and although there is an absence of fraud or constructive fraud. . . .”

Measured by the foregoing rules, it cannot be said otherwise than that it is to be inferred from the accompanying facts and circumstances that the insured intended that the beneficial interest in the proceeds of the insurance policy was not to go with the legal title. This clearly is an instance where the party obtaining legal title should not, in equity and good conscience, be permitted to hold and enjoy the beneficial interest, and a court of equity in such instances will raise a trust out of such circumstances.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1949 OK 201, 213 P.2d 565, 202 Okla. 377, 1949 Okla. LEXIS 485, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/childers-v-breese-okla-1949.