Succession of Greer

987 So. 2d 305, 2008 La.App. 3 Cir. 118, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 866, 2008 WL 2291090
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedJune 5, 2008
DocketNo. 2008-118
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 987 So. 2d 305 (Succession of Greer) 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 Greer, 987 So. 2d 305, 2008 La.App. 3 Cir. 118, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 866, 2008 WL 2291090 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

COOKS, Judge.

Liu June of 2006, Ruby P. Greer passed away. Three sons survived her. At some point in 2003, Ms. Greer apparently attended a seminar concerning estate planning. This led to the preparation of a standard form entitled “Personal Data Information.” This form was forwarded to Jbhn Vermillion, an attorney in Texas. Mr. Vermillion then contacted Ms. Greer to review the information on the form and discuss any relevant additional matters in order to generate the desired estate documents. On June 23, 2003, Ms. Greer executed an instrument entitled “Revocable Living Trust Agreement.” The instrument was prepared by Mr. Vermillion.

The instrument created trusts in the name of each son to which Ms. Greer eventually transferred her property, assigning specific immovable tracts and other properties to the three trusts. Ms. Greer owned three tracts of immovable property, and each son was to receive one of those tracts. Mark Greer received the tract of land that included the family home, which had been Mark’s residence for several years prior to Ms. Greer’s death. Gary Patrick Greer received a second tract, adjacent to the tract left to Mark, upon which sat a double wide manufactured home, which at the time of her death was the residence of Ms. Greer. The third son, Michael Greer, received a third tract of land, at a site separate from the other two. That tract did not include a home. Ms. Greer also had several money certificates and annuities at the time of her passing, which were allocated among Gary Patrick and Michael. Mark did not receive any certificates or annuities.

The issue before this court concerns the mobile home which was located on the tract of land transferred to Gary Patrick. The specific provision in the trust, Article I, Section 1.3(b), which provides for the [307]*307transfer of the tract to Gary Patrick, states the transfer is “to exclude the double wide manufactured home” located on the | ^property. Gary Patrick filed a Motion for Reformation of the Trust, seeking to “correct an acknowledged clerical error that is found in one provision of the trust.” Specifically, the motion sought to reform the pertinent language in Article I, Section 1.3(b) to read “to include the double wide manufactured home.” Mark Greer supported the motion for reformation; however, Michael Greer opposed it.

Gary Patrick obtained an affidavit from Mr. Vermillion acknowledging the error and noted that the word “exclude” should have been “include.” Mr. Vermillion reached this conclusion by reviewing notes he took while talking with Ms. Greer. A copy of these notes were introduced in support of the motion at trial. Gary Patrick also presented the testimony of Dwight Lankford, who reviewed and discussed the allocation of property and homes with Ms. Greer. He testified as follows:

Q. So there was one tract of property, but according to your understanding of her wishes, ultimately that one tract would be divided into two tracts?
A. That’s correct.
Q. And one tract would go with the red brick house that was sitting on that portion of the property?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And the other tract would go with the mobile home that she was living in at the time?
A. That was my understanding, yes.
Q. She didn’t mention anything to you and you didn’t have any understanding that the trailer home was going to go in one direction, and the property where the trailer home sat was going to go in another direction?
A. No, I did not.

At the close of the trial on the matter, the trial court granted the requested reformation. The trial court set forth the following oral reasons for judgment:

The Court is satisfied that [Mr. Vermillion] spoke with someone | -¡who identified herself as Ms. Greer. She knew what she was talking about concerning her property when he spoke to her on the phone. And she indicated what she wanted done with her property. At page 20, his notes say, Gary Patrick Greer will receive one half of the immovable property located at 3009 Highway 1153 and that will be comprised of ten acres, more or less, and that his portion would include the double wide manufactured home. The personal information data sheet mentioned the trailer in the abbreviated form. The second notation that Mr. Vermillion made on that personal information data sheet was that Mark would get one half of the ten ace tract to include the brick house and [Gary] Patrick to get one half of the ten acre tract to include the double wide manufactured home. And there is another notation that says one third each, but you can’t tell what that notation meant. He indicated that it was his error, he is the one who told the computer — the support who actually prepared the document that there was an error that it should have been excluded and not included. And those were his preparations based upon what Ms. Greer would have told him. The Court also sees [at Section] 4.38, if Ms. Greer had meant that it was to be the double wide mobile home she would have referred to the double wide mobile home.1 Instead [308]*308she he — that he would — Mike would be allowed to park a house trailer there if needed by Michael and rent free for life. In Mr. Lankford’s deposition he told her to read the whole document. That she did or did not he didn’t testify as to that. He just said that he told her that it was important that she read the whole document. The Court believes that it was her intent to leave the double wide trailer to [Gary Patrick] by clear and convincing evidence and orders the reformation.

Michael appeals the ordered reformation, arguing the evidence did not meet the burden of clear and convincing proof required for reformation. Michael also argues the Personal Data Information questionnaire, accompanying notes and parol evidence were improperly admitted. For the following reasons, we affirm.

ANALYSIS

7. Admissibility of Evidence and Testimony Introduced at Trial.

Michael objects to the admissibility of the questionnaire based on two grounds. |4First he asserts that the “questionnaire and notes were copies of copies, not copies of an original document.” Michael argues “without some evidence to directly identify the papers as true copies of original documents, they are inadmissible.” We find no merit in this argument.

The original questionnaire was filled out by Ms. Greer, and the form was forwarded to Mr. Vermillion. The information was then reviewed by Mr. Vermillion and then, while discussing the questionnaire with Ms. Greer by telephone, he added notes to the form. Once the estate documents were completed, the client file, including the questionnaire and notes were electronically scanned and stored in that format. Mr. Vermillion testified that was the common practice of his law practice. Once questions arose after Ms. Greer’s death, the client file was retrieved and paper copies of the scanned documents were made.

As Gary Patrick notes, La.Code Evid. art. 1001 allows for the type of copies admitted into evidence in this case. It provides:

For purposes of this Chapter the following definitions are applicable:
(3) Original.

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987 So. 2d 305, 2008 La.App. 3 Cir. 118, 2008 La. App. LEXIS 866, 2008 WL 2291090, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/succession-of-greer-lactapp-2008.