Roberts v. Roberts

1935 OK 1208, 53 P.2d 671, 175 Okla. 602, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 936
CourtSupreme Court of Oklahoma
DecidedDecember 17, 1935
DocketNo. 25041.
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 1935 OK 1208 (Roberts v. Roberts) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Roberts v. Roberts, 1935 OK 1208, 53 P.2d 671, 175 Okla. 602, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 936 (Okla. 1935).

Opinion

PHELPS, J.

Pearlie Orcutt, a Creek Indian citizen, was born December 6, 1905'. Her allotment was located in Creek county, Okla., *603 and was valuable for its oil and gas production and her estate was handled by a guardian. When she reached the age of majority, she was declared incompetent by the county court of Wagoner county and the guardianship continued

On May 8, 1922, she and William Colbert Roberts were married and to this union five children were born, only two of whom, however, survived at the commencement of this suit. On January 8, 1931, the county court of Wagoner county adjudged her competent, and within a few days thereafter she made an assignment and transfer to her husband of a large amount of property.

Within a few months thereafter she filed suit in the district court of Tulsa county against her husband in which she prayed for a decree of divorce and custody of the children.

Defendant filed his answer, denying- the allegations of plaintiff’s petition. At the same time he filed a cross-petition in which he set out at considerable length the shortcomings of plaintiff and prayed for a divorce and custody of their two minor children. After this answer and cross-petition were filed, and before the case was set for trial, plaintiff was, by the county court of Tulsa county, declared incompetent and E. M. Calkins and D. M. Orcutt were appointed her guardians. Leave having been granted by the court, they, on behalf of plaintiff, filed their second amended petition, in the first count of which they recited substantially the same grounds for divorce stated in the original petition, and prayed for a decree of divorce and custody of the minor children. In the second count they alleged that the transfer and assignment of a portion of plaintiff’s property to the defendant was accomplished by fraud and collusion, and prayed an order of the court restoring such property to plaintiff.

At the trial of the cause much evidence was introduced on both sides, at the conclusion of which the court entered its findings of fact, in which it specifically found that at the time plaintiff assigned to her husband a portion of her property she was competent and that said assignments were not obtained by coercion, but that they were the free and voluntary act of the plaintiff, and that she was still competent notwithstanding the judgment of the county court of Tulsa county. The court further found that the defendant had devoted his life to his wife and family, had been a faithful husband in every respect, was of good moral character and capable of looking after the welfare of his children.

The court also further found that plaintiff had been guilty of many acts of impropriety (specifically set out in said findings) which rendered her an unfit person to have the custody of said children and entered its decree granting defendant a divorce upon his cross-petition and gave him custody of the chi - dren.

In its finding's of fact and conclusions of law the court found that the property assigned or conveyed to defendant by plaintiff iwas assigned in trust for the benefit of the parties and their children, and concluded, as a matter of law, that it was the duty of defendant to hold such property for the support of the minor children and upon their attaining their majority they should each receive a one-third fee interest in the property, and at his death the property should descend to said minors.

A careful examination of the record in this case readily leads us to the conclusion that the evidence abundantly justified the trial court’s conclusion that the defendant should be granted a decree of divorce and custody of the minor children. Certainly it cannot be said that such judgment is contrary to the clear weight of the evidence. This being the case, the same will not be disturbed.

A proper disposition, however, of that part of the judgment creating in the hands of defendant a trust fund which should ultimately go to or descend to the minor children, presents greater difficulties. Counsel for plaintiff in error present their 49 assignments of error under two propositions, the first of which is that:

“The property involved in this appeal was ■the property of Pearlie Orcutt Roberts exclusively, and should be so decreed, because
“A. The evidence conclusively shows that Pearlie Orcutt Roberts was incompetent at the time she assigned this portion of her separate estate to her husband, William Colbert Roberts.
“B. The property being the property of an incompetent, the district court of Tulsa county was without jurisdiction over the same; the guardians alone were entitled to possession of the property, and the county court had sole jurisdiction to make orders in reference to it.
“C. The transfer, being without consideration, and from the wife to the husband, and occurring because of the confidential relation existing between the transferor and the transferee, equity on the theory of a constructive trust will order the husband to convey the property to the wife.”

Under subdivision A of the above proposi- *604 (ion counsel cite authorities defining- ineoin-petency and laying down the rules of law ap-tplicahle where incompetency is an established fact, which authorities clearly and correctly lay down the rule and discuss the applicable principles of law. In this case, however, the question as to whether or not plaintiff was incompetent became a question of fact for the trial judge to determine, and in such determination he was ciraunscribed and guided by the rules of law laid down by the authorities cited, and other authorities, and after hearing all the evidence and being- familiar with the facts and circumstances surrounding the entire transaction, the learned trial court in its findings numbered 8 and 21 said:

“8. The court specifically finds that at the time the assignment (which has been received in evidence in this case as plaintiff’s Exhibit 1) from the plaintiff to the defendant was made, that she was competent, and lcnow exactly what she was doing; and that said assignment was not obtained by fraud or coercion, or by any other means, by the husband; that there was no overreaching of the plaintiff by the defendant in any way; and that it was the free and voluntary act of the plaintiff. * * *
“21. The court finds that at all times since January 9, 1931, at the time Pearlie Roberts was declared competent by the county court of Wagoner county, Okla., up unto the present time, she has been competent and thoroughly capable of looking after her business, the decree of the county court of Tulsa county, decreeing her an incompetent, to the contrary notwithstanding.”

Then, again, on the question of whether the plaintiff was incompetent, we are bound by the trial court’s findings and judgment, unless it can be said that such findings and judgment are against the clear weight of the evidence, and a careful investigation of the record leads us to the inevitable conclusion that (he evidence abundantly justifies the conclusion reached by the trial court, as the term incompetency is defined by the authorities.

Under the second proposition presented in the brief of plaintiff in error, it is said:

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Related

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1962 OK 146 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1962)
Phillips v. Phillips
1954 OK 66 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1954)
Black v. Miller
1949 OK 114 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1949)
Forsyth v. Smith
1945 OK 337 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1945)
Nelson v. Nelson
1941 OK 221 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1941)
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1938 OK 54 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1938)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1935 OK 1208, 53 P.2d 671, 175 Okla. 602, 1935 Okla. LEXIS 936, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/roberts-v-roberts-okla-1935.