Decker v. Decker, 192 S.W.3d 648 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2006, no pet.).
Son and Daughter-in-law moved in with Father to care for him. Father
made several inter vivos transfers of real property and a motor home to
Son. Son died. After Son’s death, Father was successful in setting aside
the inter vivos transfers on the grounds that he was unduly influenced
and that he lacked the mental capacity to make the transfers.
Daughter-in-law appealed.
The appellate court affirmed. The court engaged in a careful review of
the evidence and determined that it was sufficient to support the jury’s
determination that Father was unduly influenced and lacked the mental
capacity to transfer the real property. Accordingly, Father still owns
the real property.
With regard to the motor home, the situation was a bit more complex
because Daughter-in-law had already sold the motor home to her uncle and
the trial court’s judgment did not award the motor home to either
Daughter-in-law or Father. The appellate court found that the evidence
was sufficient to support the jury’s finding that Father was unduly
influenced to transfer the motor home and thus the transaction should be
set aside. Uncle did not obtain a finding that he was a bona fide
purchaser and thus the motor home still belongs to Father.
Moral: An appellant will have a difficult time setting aside a jury
verdict that a transfer was due to undue influence or made while the
donor lacked capacity.