Russ v. Mebius
Russ v. Mebius
Opinion of the Court
Field, C. J. concurring.
The plaintiff conveyed to his father certain real estate in the city .of San Francisco, and the object of this suit is to set aside the convey
Our opinion is, therefore, that the facts set forth in the report of the referee are sufficient to raise the presumption of a trust; and the enforcement of this trust is a right which the plaintiff may demand. The equities relied upon by the defendants, whatever may be their moral merits, are insufficient to constitute a defense. No implication of a trust arises upon a purchase of property by a parent in the name of his child. Prima facie, such a purchase is to be regarded as an advancement, and an implied trust in favor of the person paying the money
It is not improper to notice a statement made on the argument of the case in reference to the contents of the conveyance, though the record itself is silent upon the subject. It was stated that the conveyance did not express the consideration for winch it was given, but acknowledged the payment of a nominal consideration in money. This is an important matter, and, if left open, may embarrass the action of the Court below, and become the basis of a second appeal. If the statement was correct, parol evidence was inadmissible to establish the trust, and the plaintiff, though entitled to a reversal, must eventually fail to obtain the relief which he asks. “ This distinction,” says Story, “ is to be observed in cases where a consideration, although purely nominal, is stated in the deed. If no uses are declared, the grantee will take the whole use; and there will be no resulting use for the grantor; because the payment, even of a nominal consideration, shows an intent that the grantee shall have some use, and no other being specified, he must take the whole use.” (2 Story’s Eq. sec. 1199.) The doctrine of resulting uses and trusts is founded upon a mere implication of law, and in general this implication cannot be indulged in favor of the grantor, where it is inconsistent with the presumptions arising from the deed. Unless there is some evidence of fraud or mistake, the recitals in the deed are conclusive upon the grantor, and no resulting trust can be raised in his favor in opposition to the express terms of the conveyance. In Leman v. Whitley, (4 Russ. 423) a son conveyed an estate to his father, nominally as purchaser, but really as a trustee, and in order that the father, who was in better credit than the son, might raise money upon it, by way of mortgage, for the use of the son. Before any money was raised, the father died, leaving a will, in which he
Judgment reversed, and the cause remanded for a new trial.
Reference
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- Where a boh conveys real estate to his father—the only consideration being a verbal agreement by the father to make a will and devise to the son certain property, and the father dies without having complied with the agreement— the agreement is void, the conveyance is executed without consideration, express or implied, and a trust results in favor of plaintiff by implication of law, and he may set aside the conveyance and recover the property—it being shown that the transaction was not a gift. If, in such case, the conveyance did not express the consideration for which it was given, but acknowledged the payment of a nominal consideration in money, parol evidence would be inadmissible to establish the trust in favor of the son. The doctrine of resulting uses and trusts is founded upon mere implication of law, and, generally, this implication cannot be indulged in favor of the grantor, where it is inconsistent with the presumptions arising from the deed. Unless there be evidence of fraud or mistake, the recitals in a deed are conclusive upon the grantee, and no resulting trust can be raised in his favor in opposition to the express terms of the conveyance. Ho implication of trust arises upon a purchase of property by a parent in the name of his child; as is the case when the purchase money is paid by one person, and the conveyance taken in the name of a stranger. Prima facie, such purchase is regarded as an advancement.