Wolf v. Harris

<p>Deeds — Validity—Undue Influence.</p> <p>1. Where a party who was old, sick from an incurable disease, and broken in mind and body from the excessive use of stimulants, so that he was incapable of realizing the nature of the transaction, was induced to execute a deed which purported to convey the great bulk of his property to defendant H., to the exclusion of her brother and sister, whose claims were as great as her own, and the party, after his partial recovery, treated the property as his own and disposed of it by will, the deed will be set aside as obtained by fraud and undue influence.</p> <p>Deeds — Evidence—Undue Influence — Fraud.</p> <p>2. Where the evidence discloses that the grantor at the time of executing the deed to the defendant, was old, sick from an incurable disease, broken in mind and body from the use of stimulants, and the difficulty that he labored under to understand the English language, the secrecy with which the transaction was conducted, together with the undue haste in recording the deed after the death and prior of the burial of the grantor, held, sufficient to establish that the daughter took a fraudulent advantage of her father’s age and weakness of mind to secure the deed, and the same will be set aside.</p> <p>Deeds — Evidence—Burden of Proof.</p> <p>3. Considering the relation of the parties, the frequently expressed intention of deceased to provide fairly for his other relatives, the fact that he had already made a will to effectuate that intention, the unreasonableness and injustice of the conveyance, the mental and physical weakness of the deceased and the secrecy observed concerning the transaction, the burden of proof was upon the grantee to establish by clear testimony that the deed in question was the voluntary act of the grantor.</p>