Colbo v. Buyer

134 N.E.2d 45, 235 Ind. 518, 1956 Ind. LEXIS 185
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedApril 30, 1956
Docket29,420
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 134 N.E.2d 45 (Colbo v. Buyer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Colbo v. Buyer, 134 N.E.2d 45, 235 Ind. 518, 1956 Ind. LEXIS 185 (Ind. 1956).

Opinion

Emmert, J.

Our decision in this case depends upon whether or not the settlor, John H. Colbo, had the power to revoke a trust agreement for 210 acres of land in Pulaski County. The trial court held that he did, and appellants’ motion for a new trial questions the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain such a finding.

On October 11, 1930, John H. Colbo, hereinafter referred to as the settlor, was the owner of the real estate in controversy. He was a widower, and his only children were Edward H. Colbo, Leslie W. Colbo, Anna Swing and Jennie Colbo Buyer.

Oh this date the settlor and his daughter, the appellee Jennie Colbo Buyer, hereinafter referred to as the trustee, executed a trust agreement which had been prepared by the settlor’s lawyer. The material parts of the trust agreement follow:

“Agreement.
This Agreement, made and entered into this 11th day of October, 1930, by and between John H. Colbo, Francesville, Pulaski County, Indiana,
Whereas, the said John H. Colbo is about to Quit Claim to Jennie Colbo Buyer by a General Quit Claim Deed, the following described real estate: [the description of 210 acres of land, more or less].
It is agreed that the said Jennie Colbo Buyer is to hold said lands in TRUST for the said John H, *522 Colbo during the term of his natural life and in the event of death of the said John H. Colbo, it is agreed by the parties hereto that the said Jennie Colbo Buyer, her heirs or assigns or administrators, is to and will convey or cause to be conveyed by General Quit-Claim Deed (within 60-days after the death of the said John H. Colbo) to Leslie L. Colbo of Climax, Saskatchewan, Canada; Anna Colbo Swing of Francesville, Pulaski County, Indiana, and Edward Colbo of Peru, Miami County, Indiana, each the undivided one-fourth (-(4) interest in and to the abobe [above] described farm of 210-acres, more or less, and it is futher agreed by and between the parties hereto that the said Jennie Colby Buyer, her heirs, assigns or administrator, will not sell nor offer for sale nor deed nor encumber said lands during this TRUST.”

Contemporaneously with the execution of the declaration of trust the settlor executed a quit claim deed for this real estate, conveying it to the trustee, which deed was duly recorded October 14, 1930, in the Recorder’s Office of Pulaski County.

During the same month the quit claim deed and the trust agreement were executed, the trustee wrote letters to her brothers Edward H. Colbo and Leslie W. Colbo informing them in general that her father had executed the deed to her, and she had executed the contract so that if anything happened to the settlor the property would be divided equally among the children. She made other statements in some of the letters about the legal effect of the instruments, and in one letter claimed that she and her husband had deeded the real estate back to the father, which deed he was keeping in a lockbox at the Winamac National Bank.

This purported deed of reconveyance was never recorded nor was its existence proved in any way except her statement in the letter. If it was a valid conveyance and the legal and equitable title to the real estate was *523 reconveyed to the settlor, this case should be reversed, for the settlor died intestate and the four children would inherit it equally. Therefore it becomes unnecessary to further discuss the possibility of this reconveyance.

On October 5, 1934, the settlor, the trustee and her husband executed a mortgage on the real estate which was recorded October 8, 1934, but this mortgage was paid in full and released on October 28, 1935, so no rights were asserted under it. Before the execution of this mortgage and on November 21, 1933, the settlor and the trustee and her husband executed the following contract:

“Articles of agreement made and entered into .by and between John H. Colbo, party of the first part and Jennie Colbo Buyer and Clarence C. Buyer, her husband, party of the second part.
Witnesseth: — That whereas at the time of the conveyance by the party of the first part to party of the second part the following described real estate in Pulaski County and State of Indiana:— [Description of real estate.]
The parties entered into a written agreement whereby party of the second part agreed that in the event of the death of first party that the party of the second part would convey a part of said real estate to the other heirs of party of the first part in consideration of a valuable consideration and by mutual agreement by the parties hereto, said contract is hereby cancelled and hereby declared null and void.”

This instrument was never recorded, and the settlor’s other children did not become advised of its- existence until after the settlor’s death.

The trust agreement fully satisfied the requirements of §56-601, Burns’ 1951 Replacement, as to being evidenced by a writing signed by the party creating the trust. Other applicable sections of “An Act concerning *524 trusts and powers” (Chapter 113, Acts 1852) are as follows:

“A grantor of lands reserving an absolute power of revocation shall be deemed an absolute owner, as regards creditors and purchasers.” Section 56-610, Burns’ 1951 Replacement.
“Every power, beneficial or in trust, shall be irrevocable, unless an authority to revoke it is reserved in the instrument creating the same.” Section'56-613, Burns’ 1951 Replacement.

It was not necessary that the deed contain the terms of the trust. Nesbitt v. Stevens (1903), 161 Ind. 519, 522, 69 N. E. 256. The fact that there was no consideration moving from the beneficiaries to the settlor, with the exception of the trustee who was also a beneficiary, did not invalidate the trust. Copeland, Executor v. Summers (1893), 138 Ind. 219, 224, 35 N. E. 514; Ellison v. Ganiard (1906), 167 Ind. 471, 79 N. E. 450; Crawfordsville Tr. Co. v. Elston Bank & Tr. Co. (1940), 216 Ind. 596, 25 N. E. 2d 626. Nor does the fact that the trust agreement was not recorded invalidate it. Ellison v. Ganiard (1906), 167 Ind. 471, 79 N. E. 450, supra.

The trust agreement and the settlor’s deed constituted one transaction, done under the advice of the settlor’s counsel. There is nothing ambiguous in the terms of the trust, and the two. instruments constituted one integrated transaction. Under such circumstances the parol evidence rule prohibits any attempt by the parties to add .to, vary or change the terms of the trust.

“Under the parol evidence rule, if the manifestation of intention of the settlor is integrated in a writing, that is, if a written instrument is adopted by him as the complete expression of his intention, extrinsic evidence, in the absence of fraud, duress, *525

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
134 N.E.2d 45, 235 Ind. 518, 1956 Ind. LEXIS 185, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colbo-v-buyer-ind-1956.