Opinion ID: 1696226
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: the chancellor was manifestly wrong in setting aside the warranty deed due to the failure of romeo and martha vega in overcoming the burden of presumption of undue influence.

Text: The parties do not dispute that a fiduciary or confidential relationship existed between the Appellee, Martha Mullen, and the Appellants, Romeo and Martha Vega. The law in Mississippi is clear that the existence of such a fiduciary or confidential relationship gives rise to the presumption of undue influence; therefore, the Vegas, as the proponents of the deed, were required to overcome the presumption by clear and convincing evidence. Miner v. Bertasi, 530 So.2d 168, 170 (Miss. 1988); Ham v. Ham, 146 Miss. 161, 110 So. 583, 584 (1926); Meek v. Perry, 36 Miss. 190, 250 (1858). This case is governed by this court's prior pronouncements and in Mullins, supra, and Murray v. Laird, 446 So.2d 575 (Miss. 1984). What is necessary to overcome a presumption of undue influence when the circumstances give rise to such is evidence of: (1) good faith on the part of the grantee/beneficiary; (2) grantor's full knowledge and deliberation of his actions and their consequences; and (3) grantor's independent consent and action. The key to this case is that since Murray, the Court has made the test less rigid and modified the third factor by eliminating the requirement that the donor receive advice from an independent competent person. Mullins v. Ratcliff, 515 So.2d 1183, 1193 (Miss. 1987). Now, rather than requiring the independent advice of a competent person, the Court requires a showing of the grantor's independent consent and action based on all of the surrounding facts and circumstances. The Chancellor placed great emphasis on the fact that Attorney Andrews was not selected by Mullen and had had prior dealings with the Vegas. In the view of the lower court, the Vegas could not overcome the presumption of undue influence because Andrews was not shown to have been independent. That view is erroneous because we modified the independent advice requirement in Mullins and adopted a more flexible approach. We must, then, examine the evidence in light of that approach. According to the record, the substantial weight of evidence satisfies the good faith requirement. Testimony was undisputed that Mrs. Mullen, along with her three children, initiated seeking preparation of the deed on March 16, 1986. Prior to March 16, when Mrs. Mullen met with her children, she had already initiated solely on her own the drafting of a will in which the property in question was to be left to Mrs. Vega. On March 16 she and her children discussed their alternatives determining that the most favorable option was to deed the property to Mrs. Vega, reserving a life estate for Mrs. Mullen. In exchange Mrs. Vega would care for her grandmother and maintain the property. Mrs. Vega was not present during this discussion. The instrument was executed at the office of attorney William Andrews, III. Although Mrs. Vega and Mrs. Dunn accompanied Mrs. Mullen to his office, she was left alone with Mr. Andrews to discuss the deed. Mr. Andrews testified that he received thirty-five dollars ($35.00) for drafting the deed, but his receipt did not note which party actually paid for the service. Testimony also supported the openness given the execution of the instrument. There were no secret deliberations or any covert activity. Mrs. Mullen and her children planned and agreed to the deed. There was full disclosure prior to the execution of the instrument. Likewise, the second element, grantor's full knowledge and deliberation of his actions and their consequences, is satisfied by overwhelming evidence. Mrs. Mullen remained in complete control of her finances at all times. According to testimony, she maintained her own bank accounts and paid her own medical bills. These facts are undisputed. In fact, the approximate value of the property in question was based on Mrs. Mullen's own estimate. There is no evidence to indicate that Mrs. Mullen did not understand who her heirs were. In the will she asked Mr. Stewart to draft, she left her real property to Mrs. Vega and the contents of her home, her personal property, to be divided among her children. The deed left the will predominantly unchanged. There were no non-relative beneficiaries mentioned at any time during the proceedings. Thus, a reasonable inference could be drawn that there were no non-relative beneficiaries to be included. Finally, Mrs. Mullen knew who controlled her finances  she did. The last factor is the main issue involved in this appeal. Whether there is a showing by clear and convincing evidence that the grantor/testator exhibited independent consent and action. Mullins v. Ratcliff, 515 So.2d at 1193. In Mullins, the Court affirmed a valid inter vivos gift from the grantor, holding the proponent overcame presumption of undue influence. The grantor had expressed his intent to convey the property to the grantees in repayment for their taking care of him two years prior to the drafting of the deed. There was also testimony that the grantor knew what he was doing on the day he executed the deed. This Court held that was sufficient to establish his independent consent. Id. at 1195-96. In this case, it is undisputed that Mrs. Mullen expressed her intent to convey the property to Mrs. Vega several weeks prior to the execution of the deed. When Mr. White and Mr. Stewart came to her home to discuss the drafting of her will, Mrs. Mullen expressed her intentions to everyone present. Most importantly, all of Mrs. Mullen's children, her natural beneficiaries, discussed the proposed action with her and agreed to it. Additionally, Mr. Andrews testified that on March 17, 1986, when the deed was executed, Mrs. Mullen knew what she was doing. She told him she had discussed it with her family, had prayed about it and was sure that she wanted to execute the deed. Mr. Andrews also testified that he took great pains in explaining the difference in a will and a deed so that there would be no mistakes. The evidence overwhelmingly supports the Vega's rebuttal of the presumption of undue influence. Again, in Mullins, the Court refers to the three-pronged test and concludes that these prongs should not be understood as entirely separate and independent requirements that ought be rigidly exacted in every case. Undue influence is a practical, non-technical conception, a common sense notion of human behavior ... common sense counsels against rigid, inflexible multi-part tests, particularly as the parties our law saddles with proof of the negatives are laymen, not legal technicians. Id. at 1194. Applying this reasoning, it appears clear that the overwhelming weight of evidence viewed in its entirety rebuts the presumption of undue influence. For the foregoing reasons we find merit in this assignment of error.