Troutman v. Troutman

The facts did not support the imposition of a constructive trust on 461 acres of real property in Wilcox county, of which the plaintiff conveyed his 1/2 interest to his son in order to receive social security benefits to assists in his wife's health care.

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In this dispute involving the imposition of a constructive trust on certain real property,1 Stinson Troutman appeals from a jury verdict in favor of his father, Leroy Troutman, and his siblings, Stephen Troutman, Barbara Troutman, Rosemary Troutman Walker, Wilber Troutman, and Freeman Troutman. Because the evidence demanded a verdict in favor of Stinson Troutman, we reverse. A directed verdict is proper only if there is no conflict in the evidence as to any material issue and the evidence introduced, with all reasonable deductions therefrom, shall demand a particular verdict. OCGA § 9-11-50 a. In determining whether any conflict in the evidence exists, the court must construe the evidence most favorably to the party opposing the motion for directed verdict. The standard used to review the grant or denial of a directed verdict is the any evidence test. Citation and punctuation omitted. RHL Properties v. Neese , 293 Ga. App. 838 668 SE2d 828 2008. The evidence reveals that Leroy Troutman owned a one-half undivided interest in approximately 461 acres of land in Wilcox County, Georgia. His brother, Roosevelt Troutman, owned the other half of the undivided interest. When Leroy’s wife became ill, he applied for social security benefits to assist in her care, but was denied. He was advised that in order to qualify for federal assistance, he should transfer his interest in the 461 acres to another party.

In 1989, during a family meeting about the need to get the title out of Leroy’s name, the family agreed “to let Stinson work it.” Leroy testified that “Stinson wanted to farm it, and the rest of them didn’t want to farm it,” and that for this reason, he agreed to convey the property to Stinson. Leroy and Stinson met with Leroy’s lawyer, Benjamin Easterlin, and requested that Easterlin prepare a deed to transfer the property to Stinson. Leroy signed the deed, and it was recorded on January 10, 1989. Although Leroy conveyed the property only to Stinson “in order to get help,” he testified that he intended for the property to “go to all of his children.”

Troutman v. Troutman

The facts did not support the imposition of a constructive trust on 461 acres of real property in Wilcox county, of which the plaintiff conveyed his 1/2 interest to his son in order to receive social security benefits to assists in his wife's health care.

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