Lasen v. Anderson

2008 WY 80, 187 P.3d 857, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 81, 2008 WL 2721185
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 14, 2008
DocketS-07-0138
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2008 WY 80 (Lasen v. Anderson) 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
Lasen v. Anderson, 2008 WY 80, 187 P.3d 857, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 81, 2008 WL 2721185 (Wyo. 2008).

Opinion

HILL, Justice.

[T1] Appellants Barbara J. Lasen and Paul S. Lasen (Lasens) challenge the district court's order denying their complaint to quiet title to a Goshen County farm owned by Barbara's late father.

[12] We affirm.

ISSUES

[13] The Lasens state their issues as follows:

1. A general issue for review is: "Are the findings of the District Court clearly erroneous as a matter of law and unsupported by the evidence?"
2. Did the District Court err in determining that the Plaintiffs exercised undue influence to gain execution of the 1998 Deed to the Goshen County property?
3. Did the District Court err in determining the 1995 Deed was properly delivered?
4. Did the District Court err by not considering whether Defendants had unclean hands?

FACTS

[T4] Robert Anderson was the father of Barbara (Anderson) Lasen and Samuel L. Anderson. Samuel predeceased his father, dying in April of 1998. Robert passed away in February of 2008 after living most of his adult life in Scottsbluff, Nebraska.

[T5] Prior to both men passing, Robert executed a deed in 1995 conveying a farm in Goshen County, Wyoming, to his children, Barbara and Samuel. 1 This deed was executed in the law office of a Nebraska attorney, who also notarized Robert's signature. Escrow instructions were also included by way of letter to Paul Lasen, requesting Paul Lasen to hold the deed until Robert's death, after which the deed should be delivered to Robert's children. 2

[16] After Samuel died, Robert executed another deed on July 2, 1998, conveying the same Goshen County farm to Barbara and her husband Paul (the Lasens). Disputing the validity of the new deed, in May of 1999 Samuel's children Tricia Rohloff and Lee Anderson filed a Notice of Execution and *859 Delivery of Warranty Deed with the Goshen County Clerk asserting an interest in the farm based on the first deed executed in 1995. After Robert died, the 1998 deed was recorded on March 3, 2008, by the Lasens. And although the Lasens' complaint to quiet title asserted their rights to the Goshen County farm based upon the 1998 deed, Samuel's children argued that the 1995 deed was executed, delivered, accepted, and irrevocable-giving no effect to the 1998 deed. Samuel's children further asserted that their grandfather Robert was not competent to execute the 1998 deed, and that the 1998 deed was procured through undue influence on Robert by the Lasens.

[17] The relationship between Robert and the Lasens was complicated at best. When he died in 2003, Robert was in his late 80's, and there was evidence that Robert's already deteriorating mental condition had accelerated. 3 In fact, even as early as March 5, 1998, Robert's physician noted some progressive memory problems, and there is some indication that Robert had at least been prescribed Aricept, a medication commonly given to patients with Alzheimer's disease.

[T8] As mentioned above, Samuel died unexpectedly in 1998. Family members converged on Fort Collins, Colorado, for the funeral on April 25, 1998. Those family members included the Lasens, who were multi-tasking, grieving the loss of Samuel and making arrangements to have Robert change his will. 4 In fact, the very day before Samuel's funeral, the Lasens took Robert to an attorney in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and scheduled an appointment for two days after the funeral. As a result of that meeting, the Nebraska attorney prepared a power-of-attorney for Robert appointing the Lasens as his attorneys-in-fact. Robert was to execute the new will the next day (April 28, 1998-the same day the Lasens returned to their home in Memphis). The Nebraska attorney discovered a conflict, and referred the La-sens and Robert to Roy Hahn, another local attorney in Seottsbluff. Within days, the Lasens flew back from Memphis and accompanied Robert to Hahn's office. As a result of that meeting, Hahn prepared a new will that gave Samuel's two children $10,000.00 each. The new will also provided a gift to the Henry, Nebraska Methodist church. The balance of Robert's estate, which totaled over $1,000,000.00, went to Barbara Lasen, with a provision that if Barbara predeceased Robert, then Robert's estate would go to Paul Lasen.

[191 On July 1, 1998, Barbara Lasen took Robert to visit his physician, where she expressed concerns about his deteriorating mental condition. However, the very next day, Barbara took Robert back to attorney Hahn, and the April will was revised to reflect that Barbara's children would also receive gifts of $10,000.00 each. The revised will maintained that the residuary estate would go to Barbara, and in the event of her early demise, then to Paul Lasen. That same day, Robert also executed two deeds conveying the Goshen County farm and an Arizona property solely to the Lasens. These new deeds were prepared by Paul Lasen, who stated at trial that he prepared the new documents at the request of Robert. At issue in this case is the validity of the 1995 and 1998 deeds conveying the Goshen County farm.

[110] As noted by the district court in its decision letter, there are several other matters of importance worth noting. After Samuel died in 1998, his children were suspicious that the Lasens were illegally taking Robert's money, and they filed a petition for the appointment of the Platte Valley National Bank as conservator for Robert's estate. The Lasens contested the petition alleging that a conservator was unnecessary because they already had power-of-attorney to manage Robert's affairs or, in the alternative, the Lasens requested that they be appointed conservators. After a trial, the bank was appointed conservator. The Lasens appealed *860 the decision of the Nebraska court, which was affirmed by the Nebraska Supreme Court in In re Conservatorship of Anderson, 262 Neb. 51, 628 N.W.2d 233, 240 (2001).

[T11] In spite of the appointment of the bank as conservator, the Lasens continued to spend Robert's money for their own use. Specifically, they used $20,000.00 to purchase a Lexus automobile, and $75,000.00 to purchase an airplane. In addition, the Lasens recorded the deed conveying the Arizona property from Robert to themselves and immediately sold the property for $65,000. The Platte Valley National Bank as conservator filed suit against the Lasens seeking recovery of over $300,000.

[112] Also of note, following Robert's death, there was a will contest between the Lasens on one side and Samuel's children, Lee Anderson and Tricia Rohloff, on the other. Robert's will, executed on August 29, 1997, had been admitted into probate in Nebraska. The other two wills executed in 1998 were found by a jury in Seottsbluff County, Nebraska, to be invalid because of undue influence exerted by the Lasens on Robert. 5

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Bluebook (online)
2008 WY 80, 187 P.3d 857, 2008 Wyo. LEXIS 81, 2008 WL 2721185, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lasen-v-anderson-wyo-2008.