The May Firm

Facts: Wife held title to the home prior to marriage.  Ater marriage, she refinanced the home, executing a deed transferring a one-half interest in the home to her husband.  The couple divorced and wife claimed that she did not intend the deed to be a gift transferring ownership to husband.  Husband did not testify about whether wife had made a gift.  The trial court found that husband and wife each owned a one-half separate interest in the home.  Wife appealed.

 

Held: Affirmed.  The granting of the deed to husband created a presumption that wife intended a gift.  The trial court did not err in finding that this presumption was not overcome.

 

Opinion: Inception of title shows that he house was originally wife’s separate property.  The question remaining is whether the wife intended the deed transfer to constitute a gift.  “A deed for property from one spouse as grantor to the other spouse as grantee creates a presumption the grantee spouse received the property as separate property by gift.”  This presumption may be rebutted by proof of fraud, accident, or mistake.  The trial court, as the exclusive judge of credibility and weight given to evidence, determined that this presumption was not rebutted.  This was not an abuse of discretion.

Signing what the title company puts in front of you, ignorant of the consequences, is insufficient to rebut the gift presumption.  Affirmative factual evidence – not just conclusions – of fraud, accident, or mistake must be shown.  This case provides fairly clear direction for the all-to-common refinance situations.