Pierce E. Mize, as administrator of the estate of James Kenneth Woodall, Sr., filed a complaint for declaratory judgment alleging that a certain promissory note and deed to secure debt are property of the estate and demanding that James Kenneth Woodall, Jr. and Veronica Woodall hereinafter “Woodall” pay the balance due on the note. Woodall answered that the terms of the promissory note and deed to secure debt provided that any balance still due at the time of James Kenneth Woodall, Sr.’s death was to be forgiven. The trial court agreed with Woodall, granting Woodall’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and denying Mize’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. Mize appeals. We find no error and affirm the trial court’s order. We note that the record contains evidence which the trial court relied upon in rendering his decision. Therefore, it is clear that the motions for judgment on the pleadings were actually converted into motions for summary judgment, and we treat them as such.1 The record shows the following: On April 19, 2004, James Kenneth Woodall, Sr. executed and delivered to James Kenneth Woodall, Jr. and Veronica Woodall approximately 57 acres by virtue of a Warranty Deed Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship. The deed contains the following language and reservation: “Grantor herein, James Kenneth Woodall, Sr., hereby retains a life estate in the above described tracts of land for his life with remainder to the Grantees herein, James Kenneth Woodall, Jr. and Veronica Woodall.”
Simultaneously with the execution of the warranty deed, Woodall executed and delivered to James Kenneth Woodall, Sr. a promissory note and Deed to Secure Debt with Power of Sale. Regarding payment terms, the promissory note states, in relevant part, that Woodall would pay: 211 equal monthly installments of $402.91 each, the first 1st such installment being due and payable on May 20, 2004, and the 20th of each month thereafter for a period of twenty 20 years with the final 212th installment in the approximate amount of $404.27 being due and payable on December 20, 2021 or upon the death of James Kenneth Woodall, Sr., at which time the balance remaining due and owing shall be forgiven without further payment. The relevant portion of the security deed regarding payment terms states as follows:
