Krafczik v. Morris

2009 WY 53, 206 P.3d 372, 2009 Wyo. LEXIS 54
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedApril 13, 2009
DocketNos. S-08-0003, S-08-0079
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 2009 WY 53 (Krafczik v. Morris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Krafczik v. Morris, 2009 WY 53, 206 P.3d 372, 2009 Wyo. LEXIS 54 (Wyo. 2009).

Opinion

BURKE, Justice.

[¶1] In 2004, Allan Krafezik executed a Warranty Deed conveying to Tanaya Morris an interest in a rental property he owned in Laramie, Wyoming. The Warranty Deed established Mr. Krafezik and Ms. Morris as owners of undivided one-half interests as joint tenants with rights of survivorship. In late 2004, Mr. Krafezik's cousin, Joseph Krafezik, and his wife, Christine Krafezik, were appointed as guardians of Mr. Krafezik. The Krafeziks1 filed suit on behalf of Mr. Krafezik against Ms. Morris, claiming that she had obtained the property interest through undue influence. After a bench trial, the district court ruled in favor of Ms. Morris. The Krafeziks appealed.

[¶2] While the litigation against Ms. Morris was pending, the Krafeziks executed a Quitelaim Deed on behalf of Mr. Krafezik, purporting to convey his joint tenancy in the property in exchange for a tenancy in common, with the express purpose of terminating rights of survivorship. The Krafeziks filed, in the conservatorship case, a motion for approval of that conveyance. Upon Mr. Krafezik's death, the district court dismissed their motion. The Krafeziks also appealed that decision, and the appeals were consolidated before this Court. We will affirm the district court in both cases.

ISSUES

[¶3] In the appeal of the adverse judgment on their claim of undue influence, the Krafeziks state these issues for our consideration:

1. On a claim of undue influence concerning an elderly landlord with Alzheimer's disease who deeds his family home to the renter of the property, did the trial court abuse its discretion in failing to find a confidential relationship between the parties?
2. Whether the trial court then abused its discretion in determining after trial that a confidential relationship did not exist between landlord and renter, where at the close of Plaintiffs' case the court had held that such relationship existed, and where Defendant presented no evidence to rebut the court's initial finding.

In the appeal in the conservatorship matter, the parties suggest a number of different issues. This one, somewhat reworded, is dis-positive:

3. Whether a conservator requires court approval to convey the real property of the ward in order to sever a joint tenancy and eliminate rights of survivorship.

FACTS

[¶4] Allan Krafezik and his wife Kathy lived in Laramie, Wyoming, for many years. They had no children or other close family, but they were active in their community and had many friends and acquaintances. They owned their home, and also a rental property [375]*375in Laramie, referred to as the Bradley Street Property. Located on the Bradley Street Property was a house that had been built by Mr. Krafezik's father, along with a smaller apartment that connected to the main house through a common utility room. In 1998, the main house on the Bradley Street Property was leased to Tanaya Morris and her sister Lay-nah,2 who were both students at the university.

[¶5] After his wife passed away in early 1999, Mr. Krafezik developed a closer friendship with the Morris sisters. Tanaya Morris testified that she and Mr. Krafezik would talk often, see each other at least once a week, occasionally have meals together, and exchange holiday gifts. Near the end of 2003, Mr. Krafezik began asking Ms. Morris about her long-term plans, and in particular whether she intended to stay in Laramie. She told him that she expected to stay in Laramie at least until she completed her graduate degree, but was uncertain what she would do after that. In early 2004, Mr. Krafezik asked Ms. Morris if she would be "willing to take responsibility" for the Bradley Street Property "at some point in time." She said no, apparently in part because she was not certain what he meant.

[¶6] In May of 2004, Mr. Krafezik went to Ms. Morris's office and asked for her help in preparing a document he called a "Lease to Own Purchase Agreement." In general terms, the agreement provided that Ms. Morris would continue to rent the Bradley Street Property until Mr. Krafezik's death, and after that she would own the Bradley Street Property. She was surprised, and initially objected. He assured her that he appreciated the way she took care of his father's house, and liked the fact that she had left some of his mother's pictures in place. She agreed to prepare the document as he requested. It was signed by Mr. Krafezik and Ms. Morris on May 28, 2004.

[¶7] A few days later, Mr. Krafezik invited Ms. Morris to his home one evening. When she got there, he gave her a pad of paper, and asked her to walk through the house with him and take notes about what he wanted done with his personal property after his death. Ms. Morris suggested that it would be better if Mr. Krafezik engaged a lawyer to prepare his will. He asked if she knew one, and she suggested a lawyer in Cheyenne who had onee been her college roommate.

[T8] Ms. Morris was at Mr. Krafezik's home again the following week, when he mentioned a collection of photographs that he wanted to donate to a museum upon his death. Ms. Morris again suggested that he needed a lawyer to help him accomplish that, and he agreed to get the lawyer on the telephone. Ms. Morris spoke to the lawyer first to introduce Mr. Krafezik. Ms. Morris then left the room, went into the kitchen, and busied herself by washing up some dishes. She did not hear any of the conversation between Mr. Krafezik and the lawyer.

[¶9] A short time later, Ms. Morris received a fax from the lawyer, which included copies of a will, a living will, and two warranty deeds.3 The will had been drafted to devise and bequeath Mr. Krafezik's entire estate to Ms. Morris The living will had been drafted to designate Ms. Morris to make medical treatment decisions for Mr. Krafezik if he became incapacitated. The two warranty deeds had been drafted to convey Mr. Krafezik's home and the Bradley Street Property to Mr. Krafezik and Ms. Morris as joint tenants with rights of surviv-orship. Ms. Morris was surprised by these documents, and "very uncomfortable" with them. After work, she went to Mr. Krafe-zik's home to talk to him about the documents. He confirmed that he had asked the lawyer to draft the documents for his consideration, but noted that he could choose whether to sign them or not.

[¶10] On June 22, 2004, Mr. Krafezik called Ms. Morris at work and asked her to go to lunch. Over lunch, Mr. Krafezik [376]*376showed her the Warranty Deed for the Bradley Street Property, and said "We're going to do this today." After some discussion, she insisted that the least she could do was to pay the attorney's fees for preparing the documents. Eventually, Mr. Krafezik asked if she knew where to get the Warranty Deed notarized, and Ms. Morris said there was a notary at the university police station. She took him there, where he signed the warranty deed, had it notarized, and gave it to Ms. Morris. Ms. Morris filed the deed with the County Clerk's office on July 7, 2004.

[¶11] When Ms. Morris tried to pay rent to Mr. Krafezik after he had signed the Warranty Deed, he refused her offer of payment. He said, "We're done with that. We took care of that." She later made some payments they called "rent," but which she intended as reimbursements to Mr. Krafezik for taxes and insurance on the Bradley Street Property.

[¶12] Mr.

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Krafczik v. Morris
2009 WY 53 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2009)

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Bluebook (online)
2009 WY 53, 206 P.3d 372, 2009 Wyo. LEXIS 54, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/krafczik-v-morris-wyo-2009.