Somer v. Bogart

749 S.W.2d 202, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1012, 1988 WL 45834
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 25, 1988
Docket05-87-00689-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 749 S.W.2d 202 (Somer v. Bogart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Somer v. Bogart, 749 S.W.2d 202, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1012, 1988 WL 45834 (Tex. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

ROWE, Justice.

Joseph Somer and Phyllis Somer, as husband and wife (the Somers), appeal an order of the trial court awarding title to a parcel of land in Dallas, Texas, pursuant to a resulting trust, to Theodore Bogart, Lynn Bogart, Irene Warsaw, and Phyllis Somer (the Bogart beneficiaries), devisees under the wills of Allen and Gertrude Bogart, both deceased. In two points of error, the Somers urge: (1) that the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury that the burden of proof for imposing a resulting trust on the parcel of land in question is by “clear and convincing evidence”; and (2) that the trial court erred in refusing to submit a special issue relating to the statute of limitations. We sustain the Somers’ first point of error, overrule their second point of error, reverse the trial court’s judgment, and remand the cause for a new trial.

This is a consolidated case arising out of two lawsuits filed in the probate court incident to administration of the estates of Allen and Gertrude Bogart, decedent husband and wife. The consolidated case involves the disputed ownership of real property purchased by Allen and Gertrude Bogart but record title to which was taken in the name of their son-in-law, Joseph Somer. Joseph Somer’s wife, nee Phyllis Bogart, as well as Theodore Bogart and Lynn Bogart, are the natural children of Allen and Gertrude Bogart. Irene Warsaw is a natural sister of Gertrude Bogart.

Gertrude Bogart died in April of 1979, and Allen Bogart died less than a year later in February of 1980. Theodore Bogart, Lynn Bogart, and Phyllis (Bogart) Somer are co-beneficiaries of the Estate of Allen Bogart. Theodore Bogart, Lynn Bogart, Phyllis (Bogart) Somer, and Irene Warsaw are co-beneficiaries of the Estate of Gertrude Bogart.

A trial was held before a jury. At the conclusion of the trial and over the objection of the Somers, the trial court submitted one special issue concerning the intent of the purchasers of the property as follows:

SPECIAL ISSUE NO. 1: Do you find by a preponderance of the evidence that Allen and Gertrude Bogart did not intend to make a gift of Lot 1 to Joseph Somer? Answer: “They did not intend” or, “They did intend.”

The jury answered the above special issue: “They did not intend.”

The Bogart beneficiaries argue that the jury’s finding was sufficient to establish a resulting trust for the benefit of Allen and Gertrude Bogart, as the purchasers. Based upon this jury finding, the trial court entered an order awarding title to the premises to the Bogart beneficiaries.

The parties stipulated to the following facts: Allen and Gertrude Bogart purchased the property in question in 1960, placing the record title to the property in Joseph Somer’s name. The full purchase price of the property was paid by Allen and Gertrude Bogart. Allen and Gertrude Bogart also owned and maintained an adjacent lot; and until their deaths, they paid all taxes and maintenance expenses on both premises. The original deed to the property in question was in the possession of Allen and Gertrude Bogart at all times until their deaths.

It is well settled in Texas that the record owner of property is presumed to be the true owner thereof, and one who asserts that the ownership is burdened with a parol trust has the burden of establishing such trust. Clayton v. Ancell, 140 Tex. 441, 168 S.W.2d 230 (Tex.Comm’n App.1943, opinion adopted). The burden, there *204 fore, is on the Bogart beneficiaries to show that the property involved was held in trust by Joseph Somer for their benefit. See Bell v. Smith, 532 S.W.2d 680, 684 (Tex.Civ.App. — Fort Worth 1976, no writ).

The parol trust which the Bogart beneficiaries sought to impress upon the property is known as a purchase money resulting trust. A purchase money resulting trust may be established where one takes a deed to property in his own name, but the purchase money is provided by another. See Grasty v. Wood, 230 S.W.2d 568, 572 (Tex.Civ.App. — Galveston 1950, writ ref’d n.r.e.). The appeals court in Grasty stated:

The courts are suspicious of resulting trusts of the purchase-money type and “regard them as possible instruments for depriving a person of his property by fraud and perjury, and therefore require one who claims the benefit of such a trust to prove his case by ‘clear and convincing’ evidence.” Id., 230 S.W.2d at 572 (quoting 2 Bogert, Trusts and Trustees, Section 453, pg. 1351).

Although a resulting trust may be clearly shown by proof that the purchase price was paid by another, there is an exception to this rule when parents pay the purchase price for property and place title in the name of their child. In this situation a presumption of gift arises, and no resulting trust exists until the presumption is rebutted. Equitable Trust Company v. Roland, 721 S.W.2d 530 533 (Tex.App — Corpus Christi 1986, writ ref’d n.r.e.); Bell v. Smith, 532 S.W.2d 680 (Tex.Civ.App.— Fort Worth 1976, no writ).

In the instant case, the property was purchased by Gertrude and Allen Bogart, and title was placed in the name of Joseph Somer, their son-in-law. Whether the presumption of gift arises in circumstances where title is taken in the name of a son-in-law appears to be one of first impression in this state. In this regard we are inclined to adopt the rule found in the Restatement of the Law of Trusts (Second) § 442 as follows:

Where a transfer of property is made by one person and the purchase price is paid by another and the transferee is a wife, child or other natural object of bounty of the person by whom the purchase price is paid, a resulting trust does not arise unless the latter manifests an intention that the transferee should not have the beneficial interest in the property.

(emphasis supplied). In a transfer of the above type, we perceive no reason why under normal circumstances a son-in-law should not be treated as the natural object of his father-in-law’s bounty so as to take by gift. Id. at § 442, Comment b. We now hold, therefore, that a transfer of property between a father-in-law as payor and a son-in-law as grantee is one in which a presumption of gift arises.

In a transfer of this type the presumption of gift may still be rebutted by evidence showing that the purchaser for some peculiar reason nonetheless did not intend to gift the son-in-law outright but intended instead to retain a beneficial interest. See id. at § 442; Shepherd v. White, 10 Tex. 72 (Tex.Sup.1853); Bell v. Smith, 532 S.W.2d 680 (Tex.Civ.App. — Fort Worth 1976, no writ); Turner v. Dinwiddie, 276 S.W. 444 (Tex.Civ.App. — Eastland 1925, no writ).

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Bluebook (online)
749 S.W.2d 202, 1988 Tex. App. LEXIS 1012, 1988 WL 45834, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/somer-v-bogart-texapp-1988.