Haines v. Wertman

WHITE, P. J. Defendants have appealed from a judgment whereby title to a parcel of real property was quieted in plaintiff and defendants were denied the relief sought in their cross-complaint.

In March, 1944, Henrietta J. Haines obtained an interlocutory judgment of divorce from LeRoy A. Haines, plaintiff and respondent herein. With respect to the property here in question the judgment provided, in part, “that plaintiff and cross-defendant (the wife) may live in the real property of the parties hereto, located at 2460 South Westgate Avenue, West Los Angeles, . . . and may further have the use of all the furniture and furnishings therein contained, for the balance of her lifetime. It is further ordered and adjudged that on the death of either the plaintiff or the defendant, said real property shall be the property of the survivor. . . . It is further ordered and adjudged that all other community property shall remain in the possession of the party holding the same at the present time, and it is further ordered that neither o’f said parties shall sell, transfer or encumber any of the community property without the consent of the other being first obtained. ...” (Italics added.)

The minute order of the court made at the time the interlocutory judgment was granted contains the statement: “The Plaintiff is to have the use of the home together with the furnishings during the rest of her life. The property to remain in joint tenancy as at present(Italics added.)

A final judgment of divorce was entered in June, 1945, incorporating therein the terms of the interlocutory judgment. On January 6,1947, Henrietta Haines executed a grant deed of her interest in the property to her son, Raymond A. Wertman, which deed was recorded. On July 26, 1949, after the previous deed had been recorded, Mrs. Haines executed a grant deed of the same property to her ex-husband, plaintiff in the present action. Plaintiff thereafter brought his action to quiet title to the property against Raymond A. Wertman, Anna Laura Wertman, and others. Defendant Raymond A. Wertman by cross-complaint asserted that the deed to plaintiff was void since Mrs. Haines had theretofore conveyed her interest to him, Wertman, who thereby became a tenant in common with .plaintiff.

The trial court found that “on the date of the filing of the complaint in this action, to-wit, on December 16th, 1949, and subsequent thereto, the real property described in the complaint was held in joint tenancy between the plaintiff, [843]