Schnepfe v. Schnepfe

PEEK, J. Plaintiff as administratrix of the estate of Charles C. Schnepfe, brought this action in equity to have a deed, absolute on its face, declared to be a mortgage. From the judgment entered in her Ofavor defendant appeals.

Decedent Charles C. Schnepfe had two brothers, the defendant George Schnepfe, and William J. Schnepfe who died subsequent to the execution of the deed in question. Both George and William resided in Baltimore, Maryland. The deed which is here attacked was executed on July 22, 1933, by Charles as grantor to George and William as joint tenant grantees. It was delivered and recorded on August 16, 1933. At that time Charles was a widower, his first wife, Alfrida, having died on December 26, 1932. The property embraced within the deed consisted of approximately 423 acres of land, situated near Dunnigan in Yolo County. Seventy-three acres were planted to almonds, a portion of the remainder was planted to barley, and the balance was left for grazing. On June 1, 1934, Charles married Cordelia, the plaintiff administratrix. Charles died on April 19, 1941. William died [465]on September 6,1947. On June 20,1950, plaintiff was notified by defendant to vacate the ranch premises on or before January 1,1951. On October 6, 1950, plaintiff filed her action against George as the surviving joint tenant named in the deed. At the conclusion of the trial the court found that decedent’s estate was indebted to defendant in the amount of $10,000 and that upon payment of that amount, plaintiff was entitled to a reconveyance of the property. Judgment was entered accordingly. No time for payment was specified in the judgment, although in his memorandum opinion the trial court had ordered that a reasonable time be specified.

It would appear unnecessary to unduly lengthen this opinion to set forth in detail the numerous communications which passed between the decedent and his brothers, both prior to the execution of the deed in question and subsequent thereto, and which constitute the major portion of the evidence. A summary of the pertinent facts contained therein shows that sometime prior to May 1, 1933, Charles sought to obtain a renewal of a bank loan which originally was in the sum of $17,000 but which had been paid down to $8,000 and which was due on June 1, 1933. This covered approximately 260 acres and included the area of the orchard. A second note in the sum of $2,250, which covered the remaining acreage of the ranch, was not due until 1936. Because of the additional cost that would be charged by the bank Charles sought to obtain the money from his brothers, suggesting that he would deed the property to them and upon repayment of the money lent they would deed the property back to him. It was George’s suggestion that the property be deeded to himself and William as joint tenants, for the reason, as he commented in his letters, they would not only obtain ample security for the money advanced but also might avoid any possible trouble with Charles’ nephews and nieces should he die prior to the repayment of the loan.