Epstein v. Ratkosky

129 A. 53, 283 Pa. 168, 1925 Pa. LEXIS 366
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania·Decided March 18, 1925·No. Appeal, 30·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinion

Opinion by

Me. Justice Schaffee,

This litigation is between father and daughter; the father is plaintiff, the daughter, defendant and appellant.

The essential facts out of which the case arises are these: The father purchased a store property; he paid $12,000 for it, $7,500 in cash and assumed two mortgages amounting to $4,500. The property represented substantially all his possessions. The daughter was not present when he made the settlement; he directed that the deed should be made to her, which was done. She admits she paid none of the consideration, that her father paid it all. On the latter’s behalf the argument is made that this fact of itself raises the presumption of a resulting trust in his favor. “Where one purchases an *171 estate with his own money and the deed is taken in the name of another, a trust of the land results by presumption or implication of law, and without any agreement, to him who advances the money”: Casciola v. Donatelli, 218 Pa. 624, 630; Lynch v. Cox, 23 Pa. 265, 268; Asam v. Asam, 239 Pa. 295, 297; King v. King, 281 Pa. 511, 513.

Appellant contends that where, as here, title to the purchased property has been placed in a daughter’s name, there is a presumption of a gift to her. Although appellant has cited only cases involving husband and wife in support of her contention, there are decisions which show our rule to be the same as to father and child, namely, that, although a father has made payment of the purchase price, if title is made in the name of a child, there is a presumption of a gift to the child: Phillips v. Gregg, 10 Watts 158, 171; Murphy v. Nathans, 46 Pa. 508, 513; Shaw v. Read, 47 Pa. 96, 103; Wheeler v. Kidder, 105 Pa. 270, 274; Kern v. Howell, 180 Pa. 315, 322. This, however, is only a presumption and even in cases involving husband and wife, father and child, or other closely related persons, whether the transaction was a gift is a matter of intention which is to be ascertained from the attending circumstances: Phillips v. Gregg, 10 Watts 158, 171; Murphy v. Nathans, 46 Pa. 508, 513; Kern v. Howell, 180 Pa. 315, 322; Hiester v. Hiester, 228 Pa. 102, 107; 1 Perry on Trusts (6th ed.) secs. 146 and 147. Being only a presumption, it can, of course, be rebutted by competent evidence that the father’s actual intention was not to make a gift to his daughter but, rather, to retain the equitable estate for himself. To ascertain the real intention, evidence tending both to rebut and to sustain the presumption will bo received. Explanatory circumstances accompanying the transaction or subsequent conduct which tends to show what the past intention was are competent for this purpose : Phillips v. Gregg, 10 Watts 158, 171; Murphy v. Nathans, 46 Pa. 508, 513; Kern v. Howell, 180 Pa. 315, *172 322; Hiester v. Hiester, 228 Pa. 102, 104; Gassner v. Gassner, 280 Pa. 313, 317; 1 Perry on Trusts (6th ed.) sec. 147; 3 Pomeroy’s Equity Jurisprudence (4th ed.) sec. 1041.

That the father paid the entire purchase price not being disputed, we are not concerned with any question of the weight and sufficiency of the evidence which is necessary to establish a resulting trust’in his favor (as to which, see Walker v. Walker, 254 Pa. 220, 228; Olinger v. Shultz, 183 Pa. 469, 474-5) but the question as to the evidence necessary to overcome the presumption of a gift to the daughter remains. The appellant contends that it should be clear, precise and indubitable. Although there is some confusion in the cases and a failure in others to distinguish between the situations (a) where the main question is as to whether the alleged cestui que trust furnished the purchase money, and (b) where it is admitted that he did furnish the consideration but the dispute is as to whether a gift was intended, these are separate and distinct problems calling for different degrees of proof: 3 Pomeroy’s Equity Jurisprudence (4th ed.) 2362, note. Whatever quantum is necessary in the former instance, as to the latter we agree with the Supreme Court of Illinois (Hartley v. Hartley, 279 Ill. 593, 117 N. E. 69, 73, a case strikingly similar to the one in hand) that, “it is the intention of the parties in such cases that must control, and what that intention was may be proved by the same quantum or degree of evidence required to establish any other fact upon which a judicial tribunal is authorized to act.” See also Kern v. Howell, 180 Pa. 315, 322; Gassner v. Gassner, 280 Pa. 313, 317. The evidence in rebuttal of the presumption must be directly to the point, but, if it is, though contradicted, the weight of the evidence which satisfies the conscience of the chancellor is sufficient.

It is the daughter’s contention that the testimony in plaintiff’s behalf did not overcome the presumptive gift to her and the evidence which she produced that there *173 had been an actual gift, which fact she asserted. A witness called by her testified that he had heard the father tell his daughter he had bought a property for her, but on cross-examination he was in doubt as to whether plaintiff said he had bought, or was going to buy, and as to whether he had said he was going to give it to his daughter or had given it to her. On behalf of the father, it was shown, without contradiction, that he negotiated the purchase, paid the entire consideration and that its payment represented practically his entire estate (an important circumstance: Dorman v. Dorman, 187 Ill. 154, 58 N. E. 235; Skahen v. Irving, 206 Ill. 597, 69 N. E. 510), this the daughter knew; that he made other payments on account of the property out of his own pocket for insurance, interest on mortgage and for repairs, that he went into possession of the property, that when it was sold for $16,600, the check in settlement was drawn to the order of the daughter, who deposited it in bank and immediately gave him $4,000 thereof, $1,000 in cash and $3,-000 in a check, which he deposited in his own bank account; the balance of the consideration, $8,600, was placed in a saving fund account to the daughter’s credit. It further appeared, without contradiction, that the father paid the daughter’s expenses connected with going to this settlement. Immediately after purchasing the property, the father went into possession of it and conducted a. business therein, paying no rent for the part he occupied and receiving all the rents from those who were tenants of the other portions of it. He deposited the rents in the daughter’s name,-but when the property was sold she turned over to him all of the money in this account.

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Epstein v. Ratkosky, 129 A. 53, 283 Pa. 168, 1925 Pa. LEXIS 366 (Pa. 1925).

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