In Re Marriage of Harp

278 S.W.3d 681, 2008 WL 5181914
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedDecember 11, 2008
DocketSD 28865, SD 28870
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 278 S.W.3d 681 (In Re Marriage of Harp) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Marriage of Harp, 278 S.W.3d 681, 2008 WL 5181914 (Mo. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinions

[684]*684DON E. BURRELL, Presiding Judge.

Appellant Eleanor Harp (“Wife”) filed a petition against Respondent Chester Glen Harp (“Husband”) for dissolution of marriage. Wife subsequently amended her petition to include claims against Husband’s adult son from a previous marriage, Glen Wayne Harp (“Stepson”). Wife’s claim against Stepson alleged that she had transferred certain interests in real property to him under duress. Specifically, Wife claimed that Stepson had coerced her into: 1) giving him a deed to real property she owned in Leopold, Missouri (the “Leopold House”); and 2) making a significant down-payment and subsequent payments toward the purchase of a residence located in Marble Hill (the “Log House”) that was deeded solely to Stepson. The trial court entered a judgment that dissolved the marriage, divided the marital property, and denied Wife’s claims against Stepson.

On her appeal, Wife alleges two points of error: 1) the trial court erred in finding that her conveyance to Stepson of the Leopold House by general warranty deed was not made under duress resulting from Stepson’s undue influence on her; and 2) the trial court misapplied the law when it found that Wife did not establish her right to an equitable ownership interest in the Log House.

On his cross-appeal, Husband argues the trial court erred by granting Wife a lien against real property (the “Highway 34 House”) purchased during the marriage and titled solely in his name because it should have been deemed his separate property under the parties’ antenuptial agreement. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment.

I. Statement of Facts and Procedural History

When viewed in the light most favorable to the trial court’s judgment, Landers v. Sgouros, 224 S.W.3d 651, 655 (Mo.App. S.D.2007), the facts are as follows. In 1988, Wife was seriously injured in an automobile accident that also resulted in the death of the man who was her husband at the time (“the 1988 accident”). Wife and her deceased husband had one daughter together. Wife eventually recovered from the 1988 accident and married Husband in October of 1991. Two days before them marriage, Wife and Husband entered into an antenuptial agreement whereby the parties agreed, in pertinent part, that any “separate property” (as defined by the terms of the agreement) owned by either of them at any time would remain them own separate property.

At the time of the marriage, Wife owned the Leopold House and some investments derived from settlement proceeds she had received as a result of the 1988 accident. Shortly after them marriage, Wife and Husband moved into the Leopold House. In February of 1992, Wife and Husband were both injured in an automobile accident (“the 1992 accident”). Wife and Husband received a total of $250,000 (less attorney fees) in an apparent settlement of claims they had arising from the accident. Whether any apportionment of those proceeds between Husband and Wife occurred based on their relative injuries is unknown.

Not long after the 1992 accident, Husband began to physically and emotionally abuse Wife and take advantage of her financially. As a result, Wife went from being “full of energy” to “never ha[ving] energy to do anything.” In May of 1995, Husband used some or all of the proceeds from the 1992 accident to purchase the Highway 34 House and had it titled solely in his name. Husband and Wife moved into the Highway 34 House sometime shortly after it was purchased.

[685]*685In May of 1996, Stepson moved from California to Missouri to live with Husband and Wife. Stepson had previously been homeless and came to Missouri with few, if any, assets. Stepson and Husband did not get along well. Wife and Stepson, however, developed an affectionate relationship; the exact extent and nature of which is not clear from the record.

In September of 1996, Wife and Stepson both signed a contract to purchase the Log House. Wife used $20,000 of her premarital funds as a down-payment, and Wife and Stepson both signed the promissory note for the remainder of the purchase price and the deed of trust. The general warranty deed, however, conveyed the property solely to Stepson. On the same day the Log House was conveyed to him, Stepson executed a beneficiary deed to the Log House naming Wife as the beneficiary. Less than a month later, Wife and Husband separated, and Wife and Stepson moved into the Log House.

The trial court found that after moving into the Log House, Stepson’s behavior toward Wife was “exploitive and even bullying at times.” Evidence was presented that Stepson tried to limit Wife’s contact with other people; was spending Wife’s money; and was often cruel, controlling, manipulative, and even abusive to Wife. Wife moved out of the Log House at some point during 1997 or 1998 and began living with her nephew, Danny Seiler (“Nephew”). Wife appointed Nephew as her attorney-in-fact at that time, and for approximately three-and-a-half months he paid her bills using her bank account, purchased her an automobile, and scheduled her doctor appointments. After a couple of months, however, Wife moved back into the Log House with Stepson and revoked Nephew’s power of attorney.

In August of 1999, Wife purchased an annuity that listed Stepson as the primary beneficiary and Wife’s daughter and Nephew as secondary beneficiaries. In September of 2000, Wife transferred (by general warranty deed) the Leopold House to Stepson subject to a life estate she reserved for herself. Sometime in 2000, Wife moved out of the Log House and stopped making any payments on the promissory note.

In its dissolution judgment, the trial court awarded Wife a lien for half of the Highway 34 House’s appraised value. The trial court found that all of the proceeds from the settlement of the 1992 accident claim were marital property and that the parties’ antenuptial agreement did not require those proceeds to be treated as separate property. Because Husband had used some or all of the proceeds from the 1992 accident settlement to purchase the Highway 34 House, the trial court found that the Highway 34 House was marital property subject to division by the court.

In denying Wife’s claims against Stepson based on undue influence, duress, and fraudulent misrepresentation, the trial court found that Wife had failed to meet her burden of proof. The trial court found there was clear and convincing evidence that Wife’s down payment on the Log House was a gift to Stepson and the subsequent payments she made while residing there were either gifts or represented her share of the household expenses. The trial court did not believe Wife’s claim that she transferred the Leopold House to Stepson under duress resulting from his undue influence over her, finding instead that the consideration for this transaction was some degree of affection for Stepson and a desire to provide for him. Other relevant facts will be set forth below as necessary to address the points to which they relate.

[686]*686 II. Discussion

Point I (#28865): The Leopold House

Both of Wife’s claims against Stepson asked the trial court to set aside warranty deeds and grant her an equitable interest in the properties conveyed by them. “A suit to set aside a deed is an action in equity.

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In Re Marriage of Harp
278 S.W.3d 681 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
278 S.W.3d 681, 2008 WL 5181914, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-marriage-of-harp-moctapp-2008.