Succession of Dickens v. Huey

217 So. 2d 228, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 4497
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 3, 1968
DocketNo. 11125
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 217 So. 2d 228 (Succession of Dickens v. Huey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Succession of Dickens v. Huey, 217 So. 2d 228, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 4497 (La. Ct. App. 1968).

Opinion

BOLIN, Judge.

This suit is brought by two granddaughters of the deceased, Mr. and Mrs. Lafayette F. Dickens, seeking to be placed in possession of the estate of their grandparents and further seeking annulment of a purported sale of one-half of the community by Mrs. Dickens to her daughter, Mrs. Velta Dickens Huey. There was judgment in the lower court in favor of Mrs. Huey recognizing the validity of the transfer and placing petitioners in possession of their grandfather’s share of the community together with their aunt, Mrs. Huey. From this judgment petitioners appeal and Mrs. Huey answers the appeal seeking clarification of the lower court’s judgment with regard to certain expenses expended by her in behalf of the estate of Mr. Dickens and re-urging her earlier contention that one of petitioners, Roberta Dickens Gutierrez, has not proved her legitimacy nor right to inherit.

Petitioners are the sole surviving children of their predeceased parents who were children of Mr. and Mrs. Dickens. Mrs. Huey is the only surviving child of the Dickens couple. Her father, Lafayette F. Dickens, died in 1950 and her mother, Laura Sutton Dickens, died in 1963.

The sale under attack covered Mrs. Dickens’ one-half interest in the community property consisting of approximately 69 acres located in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana.

The instrument effecting the transfer is in the form of an authentic notarial act [230]*230executed in June, 1951. The consideration recited therein is as follows:

“The consideration for this sale and transfer is that the said Mrs. Velta Dickens Huey is the only living child of the said L. F. Dickens, and Mrs. Laura Sutton Dickens, and that the said Mrs. Velta Dickens Huey has cared for her mother since the death of her father and intends to continue to care for her, furnishing her with all necessaries of life, including money, medicines and medical care, and to care for and see after her as long as she lives.
“It is understood and agreed herein that as a further consideration the said Mrs. Laura Sutton Dickens, reserves the usu-fruct, and the use and benefit of the above described property as long as she lives, and it is understood and agreed that she is to receive all of the fruits from said property including all crops, and crop rentals, and the use of the residence thereon. The said Mrs. Velta Dickens Huey agrees to keep the said property in a good state of repair, and to pay all taxes and assessments due or to become due thereon.”

Appellants argue two factors strike this conveyance with nullity, the first being that Mrs. Dickens made a donation of all of her property, reserving nothing for her subsistence and thereby violated Louisiana Civil Code Article 1497, providing:

“The donation inter vivos shall in no case divest the donor of all his property: he must reserve to himself enough for subsistence; if he does not do it, the donation is null for the whole.”

The second allegation relative to nullity is the provision in the instrument reserving to the mother the usufruct, as well as the income from the property and the use of the residence thereon. This reservation is said to contravene Louisiana Civil Code Article 1533:

“The donor is permitted to dispose, for the advantage of any other person, of the enjoyment or usufruct of the immovable property given, but can not reserve it for himself.”

In support of the contentions that the transfer to Mrs. Huey is void as a gratuitous donation omnium bonorum appellants cite many early cases, together with two recent cases: Camus v. Camus, 91 So.2d 120 (La.App.Orl.1956) and Succession of Delaune, 138 So.2d 41 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1962). Our review of each of the cited cases leads us to the conclusion they are factually distinguishable from the instant case. In most of those involving donations the court found there was insufficient consideration to prevent the transaction from being gratuitous and, therefore the rules regarding such donation were applicable. In those involving purported sales, if the court failed to find the recited consideration was actually paid the sale would fall as a donation in disguise and void as to forced heirs. However, in the Delaune case, cited supra, the court made exhaustive findings regarding the nature of the consideration and/ concluded it adequate to sustain the validity of the transaction.

Appellee herein concedes the conveyance was no ordinary sale, but affirmatively argues it was a valid donation inter vivos, being both onerous and remunerative, and, therefore, the contentions set forth by appellants are inapplicable. She cites and relies- on Louisiana Civil Code Articles 1523, 1524, 1525, 1526 and 1527, providing:

“Art. 1523. There are three kinds of donations inter vivos:
“The donation purely gratuitous, or that which is made without condition and merely from liberality;
“The onerous donation, or that which is burdened with charges imposed on the donee;
“The remunerative donation, or that the object of which is to recompense for services rendered.”
[231]*231“Art. 1524. The onerous donation is not a real donation, if the value of the object given does not manifestly exceed that of the charges imposed on the do-nee.”
“Art. 1525. The remunerative donation is not a real donation, if the value of the services to be recompensed thereby being appreciated in money, should be little inferior to that of the gift.”
“Art. 1526. In consequence, the rules peculiar to donations inter vivos do not apply to onerous and remunerative donations, except when the value of the object given exceeds by one-half that of the charges or of the services.” (Emphasis added)
“Art. 1527. The donor may impose on the donee any charges or conditions he pleases, provided they contain nothing contrary to law or goods morals.”

As a consequence of the above Civil Code Articles we look to the evidence to determine whether the value of the object, i. e. “property” given, which value is estimated by petitioners as $6,900.00, exceeded by “one-half” the services rendered by Mrs. Huey to her mother. She attended her mother as long as the latter was able to remain in the family home and would spend as much as two weeks with her every few months taking care of her after the death of Mr. Dickens in 1950. When Mrs. Dickens suffered a stroke in 1953 Mrs. Huey took her mother to her home in Longview, Texas, and there waited on her for about nine months, following which Mrs. Dickens was able to return to her home in West Carroll Parish for a while. She became feeble and needed constant attention and care and Mrs. Huey took her back to Longview where she lived with her daughter for the last five and one-half years of her life until her death in 1963. The last two years of this period Mrs. Dickens was a bed-patient unable to do anything for herself. Mrs. Huey performed all the nursing care, as well as the household duties, and procured medical attention for her mother with no outside assistance. This evidence is established by testimony of Mrs. Huey, corroborated by that of other witnesses. We accept as established, by the uncontradicted testimony of Mrs.

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217 So. 2d 228, 1968 La. App. LEXIS 4497, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/succession-of-dickens-v-huey-lactapp-1968.