Saradjian v. Saradjian

595 A.2d 890, 25 Conn. App. 411, 1991 Conn. App. LEXIS 277
CourtConnecticut Appellate Court
DecidedAugust 6, 1991
Docket9704
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 595 A.2d 890 (Saradjian v. Saradjian) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Connecticut Appellate Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Saradjian v. Saradjian, 595 A.2d 890, 25 Conn. App. 411, 1991 Conn. App. LEXIS 277 (Colo. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

Heiman, J.

The defendant1 appeals from the judgment of the trial court declaring that certain real property held in the names of the plaintiff and the late mother of both the plaintiff and the defendant was subject to a resulting trust in favor of the plaintiff to the extent of one half of the late mother’s one-half interest in the property. The plaintiff has cross appealed.

In his appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court improperly (1) imposed a resulting trust in favor of the plaintiff when the only evidence of or permissible inference regarding the decedent’s intent was that the decedent intended to make a testamentary transfer, (2) imposed a resulting trust where the plaintiff failed to make a timely claim to the decedent’s estate as required by General Statutes § 45-205, and in light of the plaintiff’s inconsistent acts in attempting to purchase the full interest in the property from the estate, (3) awarded equitable relief to the plaintiff even though, inter alia, he had been removed as a fiduciary of his mother’s estate because he had a conflict of interest, did not have clean hands, was guilty of laches, and did not specifically request equitable relief as required by the rules of practice, and (4) considered the action where the liquidation and sale of the real property made subject to the resulting trust was necessary to meet probate, tax and administration expenses.

In his cross appeal the plaintiff asserts that the court incorrectly found that his failure to present a claim to [413]*413the estate for antemortem expenditures made by him for the benefit of his mother barred him from recovering those expenditures because of the statute of non-claim, General Statutes § 45-205. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The facts, as found by the trial court, which were not substantially in dispute, are as follows. The plaintiff and Zarouhi Saradjian, the mother of the plaintiff and the defendant, purchased a piece of residential real estate located at 175 North Stamford Road, Stamford, in August, 1968. The deed to the property conveyed an undivided one-half interest to each grantee without the right of survivorship. The plaintiff paid 75 percent of the purchase price and Zarouhi Saradjian paid 25 percent. After the acquisition of this property, the plaintiff paid all real estate taxes, insurance charges, costs of maintenance and improvements on the property. No agreement existed between the plaintiff and his cotenant as to the disposition of her interest in the property upon her death. Zarouhi Saradjian died on January 23, 1987, leaving a will that had been executed in 1962. The plaintiff did not present a claim against the estate claiming an equitable interest in the property or claiming reimbursement for his expenditures.

The trial court concluded that the plaintiff failed to satisfy his burden of proving an express agreement between himself and his mother, but concluded that the mother’s one-half interest in the real property was subject to a resulting trust on one half of her title interest. The trial court further concluded that the plaintiff’s equitable claim for a resulting trust was not barred by the statute of nonclaim, but that his claim for reimbursement of expenditures was barred under that statute for his failure to present the claim to the estate.

[414]*414I

The Defendant’s Appeal

A

The defendant first asserts that the trial court incorrectly imposed a resulting trust where the only evidence or permissible inference from the evidence of the intent of the decedent was that she intended to make a testamentary transfer. We do not agree.

When property has been acquired and maintained under circumstances that make it inequitable for the holder of the legal title to retain the entire beneficial interest, equity converts him into a trustee. Cohen v. Cohen, 182 Conn. 193, 201, 438 A.2d 55 (1980). The parties would, under these circumstances, share the property in proportion to the contribution of each to the purchase price. See Fox v. Shanley, 94 Conn. 350, 359, 109 A. 249 (1920). “ ‘When the purchase money for property is paid by one and the legal title is taken in the name of another, a resulting trust ordinarily arises at once, by operation of law, in favor of the one paying the money. . . .’ ” Cohen v. Cohen, supra. The party seeking to impose the resulting trust need only show that the purchase money was paid by him and legal title was taken in another to gain the benefit of the presumption.2 Farrah v. Farrah, 187 Conn. 495, 501, 446 A.2d 1075 (1982).

This presumption is one of fact rather than law and may be rebutted. Fox v. Shanley, supra, 357. Extrinsic evidence may be used to establish that the actual intent of the parties was otherwise; Cohen v. Cohen, supra; and where “the nominal grantee is a natural [415]*415object of the payor’s bounty,” the presumption of trust is rebutted, because the law presumes a donative intent. Farrah v. Farrah, supra, 500. There is no presumption of gift when the transferee is the parent of the payor. See 4A R. Powell & P. Rohan, Powell on Real Property (1991) § 592; 2 Restatement (Second), Trusts § 442, comment (a); 76 Am. Jur. 2d, Trusts § 208.

Thus, the only way in which the defendant in this case could have rebutted the presumption of a resulting trust was by offering evidence that the actual intent of the parties was otherwise.

The existence of a resulting trust is an issue of fact. Farrah v. Farrah, supra, 501. Intent is also a question of fact to be determined by the trier of fact from the evidence that it finds to be credible. Lord v. Stavrakis, 6 Conn. App. 161, 162, 503 A.2d 629, cert. denied, 199 Conn. 804, 506 A.2d 146 (1986). “In a case tried before a court, the trial judge is the sole arbiter of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given specific testimony.” Kimberly-Clark Corporation v. Dubno, 204 Conn. 137, 153, 527 A.2d 679 (1987). “In reviewing the trial judge’s factual findings, we give the evidence the most favorable reasonable construction in support of the judgment.” Kelman v. McDonald, 24 Conn. App. 398, 401, 588 A.2d 667 (1991). We may reject a factual conclusion of the trial court only if it is clearly erroneous. Id.

“ ‘ “We do not examine the record to determine whether the trier of fact could have reached a conclusion other than the one reached. Rather, we focus on the conclusion of the trial court, as well as the method by which it arrived at that conclusion to determine whether it is legally correct and factually supported.” ’ Lukas v. New Haven, 184 Conn. 205, 208, 439 A.2d 949 (1981).” Kelman v. McDonald, supra.

[416]*416It is often stated that “ ‘[a] finding is “clearly erroneous” when although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.’ ” Doyle v. Kulesza, 197 Conn. 101, 105, 495 A.2d 1074 (1985).

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Bluebook (online)
595 A.2d 890, 25 Conn. App. 411, 1991 Conn. App. LEXIS 277, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/saradjian-v-saradjian-connappct-1991.