Brazil v. Brazil

VAN DYKE, P. J.

This is an appeal from a judgment in favor of defendants in an action wherein plaintiff, the widow of Manuel Brazil, sought to establish and quiet her title in certain real property as against the claims of two children of Manuel by a prior marriage who claimed under his will.

Appellant and Manuel Brazil intermarried in 1921 and lived together as husband and wife until his death in 1952. The evidence showed that at the time of their marriage Manuel was possessed of about $3,000, a part of which at least was used by him to pay the expenses of the honeymoon trip of the couple to the Azores Islands. Appellant at the time of her marriage to Manuel was a widow with three minor children. She was the guardian of the children and of their estates and was in receipt of $40 per month therefrom for their support. She owned property of her own which the court found to have approximated in value the sum of $10,000. Throughout their marriage, as the court found, appellant reposed the greatest trust and confidence in Manuel and he handled all business matters and managed her separate property, as well as such separate property as he may have had, and the community interests of the parties. Soon after returning from their wedding trip, Manuel and appellant and her children moved onto the ranch property which is the subject of this litigation. He rented the property for about five years. In 1926 he purchased it for $8,000. He took title in his own name. The trial court found that the cash purchase price was paid from community funds, from the separate funds of appellant, and from the separate funds of Manuel, and further that the exact amount of the funds from each source was unknown. However, there was a great deal of credible evidence, both oral and documentary,

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that at the very least $5,750 of the total purchase price was supplied by appellant from her separate funds, and likewise there was strong evidence that thereafter an additional $4,250 of her separate funds were used in improving the property. After the property was purchased Manuel built a large dairy barn thereon in which he conducted a substantial dairy business and he also built on the property a two-story nine-room dwelling house which was the home of the family up to the time of his death in 1952. Appellant testified that Manuel on a number of occasions told her the property belonged to her and she said she did not discover the title stood in his name alone until 1945. She said she turned over to him and he handled all the funds which came to her from her separate estate, including the monthly allowance for the support of her children. In 1945, at Manuel’s request, appellant accompanied him to an attorney’s office where she joined him in the execution of a deed which conveyed the property to the two of them as joint tenants. She testified that she was told and she understood that the purpose of this was to place the title in such condition that if either of the two died the survivor would take the whole without the expense of probate. The attorney who prepared the joint tenancy deed and saw to its execution testified that he explained the matter to her in just that way. There was no evidence that it was also explained to her or that she understood that it was within the power of either party thereafter to destroy the joint tenancy and cause the property to be vested in the two as common tenants. She testified that after the joint tenancy deed had been executed Manuel on several occasions told her the property belonged to her. The title to the property remained unchanged after the execution of the joint tenancy deed until in 1951, a few months before he died, when Manuel caused another attorney, who had represented him on occasions, to prepare a deed of his interest in the property from himself to a third party and a deed from the third party back to him as his separate property. Shortly after the recordation of these deeds he died. Under the terms of his will his two children by his prior marriage succeeded to his undivided one-half interest.