In Re Conservatorship of Cook

937 So. 2d 467, 2006 WL 2532532
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 5, 2006
Docket2004-CA-02303-COA, 2005-CA-00395-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 937 So. 2d 467 (In Re Conservatorship of Cook) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Conservatorship of Cook, 937 So. 2d 467, 2006 WL 2532532 (Mich. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

937 So.2d 467 (2006)

In re CONSERVATORSHIP OF Virginia B. COOK.
Camille C. Robinson, Appellant,
v.
John B. Cook, Jr., as the Personal Representative of John B. Cook, Sr., Deceased, and Virginia B. Cook, Appellees.
In re Conservatorship of Virginia B. Cook.
Camille C. Robinson, Appellant
v.
John B. Cook, Jr., as the Personal Representative of John B. Cook, Sr., Deceased, and Virginia B. Cook, Appellees.

Nos. 2004-CA-02303-COA, 2005-CA-00395-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

September 5, 2006.

*468 Robert Lewis Spell, attorney for appellant.

Mark W. Prewitt, Vicksburg, attorney for appellees.

Before LEE, P.J., SOUTHWICK and ISHEE, JJ.

SOUTHWICK, J., for the Court.

¶ 1. This is a suit between a brother and sister whose 92-year old mother granted significant financial benefits to the brother. After a trial, the chancellor upheld the gifts. On appeal, the sister alleges that the evidence does not support the chancellor. We disagree and affirm.

FACTS

¶ 2. Mrs. Virginia Cook, born in 1910, is a life-long resident of Warren County, Mississippi. She has been a widow since 1953. Mrs. Cook has three children — John, Camille, and Theodore. Camille Robinson, a resident of the Commonwealth *469 of Virginia, brought suit against John, while Theodore has apparently had no desire to participate in this litigation and has never been a party. John died prior to the conclusion of this case. His son, John, Jr., has been substituted.

¶ 3. In the early 1960's, Mrs. Cook inherited $50,000 and 360 acres of land from her father. She wanted to live the remainder of her life on the Warren County property. John assisted his mother with investments and business operations to ensure this was possible. At the time of the judgment in this case, Mrs. Cooks' assets amounted to about $342,000. We will discuss the facts of the challenged transactions between Mrs. Cook and her son John as we review the relevant legal principles. For now, we note that both cash and real property were transferred from mother to son. The chancellor's refusal to set those transfers aside is the subject of one of the appeals before us.

¶ 4. The siblings, John and Camille, agreed that a conservator should be appointed for their mother. Each sought that position. John Cook initially was named, and after his death, Camille Robinson was appointed. Camille, after being appointed as conservator of Mrs. Cook, filed a petition that would allow her mother to be moved to Virginia. The chancellor denied the request. One of the consolidated appeals is from that decision. Camille Robinson has resigned as conservator because remaining in Mississippi to care for her mother was too burdensome. The parties agree that the appeal in Cause Number 2005-CA-395-COA from the decision refusing to allow Mrs. Cook to be moved is moot. There is no motion to dismiss, and so we simply affirm that judgment.

¶ 5. We now proceed to review only the appeal from the refusal to set aside the transactions between Mrs. Cook and her son John.

DISCUSSION

¶ 6. The central focus on appeal is whether the evidence supports the findings of the chancellor. Such findings will be upheld if supported by substantial evidence unless they are manifestly wrong, clearly erroneous, or an erroneous legal standard is applied. Hamilton v. Hopkins, 834 So.2d 695, 699 (Miss.2003). We will examine each of the issues raised in light of that standard.

ISSUE 1: Mrs. Cook's mental competence

¶ 7. On July 25, 1975, Mrs. Cook conveyed to her son John an undivided one-half interest in the 360 acres she had inherited. In 1990, upon Mrs. Cook's request, John conveyed a life estate in the house back to his mother. Camille Robinson received a power of attorney from her mother in 2001 while visiting her. In February 2003, apparently having concerns raised during a visit with her mother, Mrs. Robinson used the power of attorney to obtain records from her mother and brother's joint account. Mrs. Cook learned about her daughter's inquiries when she saw a charge on her account for fees involved in the bank's research. Mrs. Cook instructed John to contact an attorney for her. There is evidence that John Cook provided a list of attorneys, and that his mother chose Travis Vance from the list. An appointment was made for Vance to go to the Cook home.

¶ 8. Vance met with Mrs. Cook for over an hour one morning. During this meeting, John was instructed to leave the house. He did so. Mrs. Cook informed Vance of her intentions. Vance prepared a deed, power of attorney, durable power of attorney for health care, and a living will, all in favor of John Cook. Vance had been *470 an attorney for nearly four decades and later testified that he satisfied himself that Mrs. Cook had the mental capacity to execute such documents. Vance testified that Mrs. Cook wanted to execute these instruments in favor of her son because John had taken care of her. Conversely, her daughter Camille lived in Virginia with her family, and her final child, Theodore, had no relationship with her.

¶ 9. Vance consulted with Mrs. Cook on three separate occasions prior to executing these instruments. He testified that each time he was satisfied that these choices were of her own free will, without outside influence, and that she understood the consequences of her actions. Vance once was accompanied by his notary so that the documents could be executed. The notary also was satisfied that Mrs. Cook was mentally competent to execute the instruments.

¶ 10. Mrs. Cook suffered from mild dementia and was under the care of a physician, a registered nurse, and a nurse practitioner. Evidence was obtained from the physician that Mrs. Cook suffered from dementia and did not always possess the mental capacity to execute legal documents. Mrs. Cook's physician also testified that her condition varied and the people in her presence on any given day were better situated to determine Mrs. Cook's mental capacity on that day.

¶ 11. At trial, no medical documentation of an earlier diagnosis of dementia was introduced. None of Mrs. Cook's medical advisors observed her on the day of execution of the relevant documents and could not testify to her mental state on that day. The day of execution of the documents was February 28, 2003. Mrs. Cook was examined by a psychiatrist on May 7, 2003 to obtain an evaluation of competency. The psychiatrist testified that Mrs. Cook stated that she knew she signed the deed conveying her land to John and this was because John and his family had made it possible for her to remain comfortably at home. The psychiatrist concluded that Mrs. Cook was not dominated by John and that she could recall the reasons for signing the deed.

¶ 12. Mississippi law requires that the party seeking to set aside a deed prove that the grantor lacked mental capacity at the time of execution. Whitworth v. Kines, 604 So.2d 225, 235 (Miss.1992). This evidence of mental incapacity must be clear and convincing and not simply that the grantor was suffering from general weakness. Id. The attorney Vance testified about his meetings with Mrs. Cook over a three-day period and concluded that she had been competent to execute the documents at that time. The chancellor went through a comprehensive analysis of case law in a written opinion and concluded that clear and convincing evidence of a lack of mental capacity had not been shown. We find no basis on which to disturb that factual conclusion.

¶ 13. Even if Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
937 So. 2d 467, 2006 WL 2532532, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-conservatorship-of-cook-missctapp-2006.