James V. Taylor
Case 49-3
James V. Taylor
Court of Appeals of Arkansas, Division III, 1998
62 Ark. App. 130, 969 S.W.2d 672
FACTS: Eula Mae Redmon conveyed certain real estate to her children, W. C. Sewell, Billy Sewell, and Melba Taylor, by means of a January 1993 deed. The deed recited that the property was conveyed to the three grantees "jointly and severally, and unto their heirs, assigns, and successors forever," subject to a life estate retained by Mrs. Redmon. W. C. Sewell died in November 1993. Billy Sewell died two years later. After Mrs. Redmon passed away in 1997, Melba Taylor filed a declaratory judgment action in which she asked the court to rule that her mother had intended to convey the property to the three grantees as joint tenants and that Taylor, by virtue of her brothers' deaths, had become sole owner of the property under the right of survivorship. Descendants of W. C. and Billy Sewell (referred to hereinafter as "the Sewell descendants") opposed Taylor's request. They contended that Mrs. Redmon's deed created a tenancy in common, and that they had succeeded to the ownership interests W. C. and Billy Sewell held prior to their deaths.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY: The trial judge considered extrinsic evidence of Mrs. Redmon's intent and concluded that she meant to convey the property to her three children as joint tenants with the right of survivorship. He therefore held that Taylor had become sole owner of the property. The Sewell descendants appealed.
ISSUE: The issue in this case is whether a deed from the late Eura Mae Redmon to her three children, W.C. Sewell, Billy Sewell, and appellee Melba Taylor, was a conveyance to them as tenants in common or as joint tenants with the right of survivorship.
RULE OF LAW: Under Arkansas law, a deed to two or more persons presumptively creates a tenancy in common unless the deed expressly creates a joint tenancy. They cite Ark.Code Ann. § 18-12-603 (1987), which reads as follows: “Every interest in real
James V. Taylor
Court of Appeals of Arkansas, Division III, 1998
62 Ark. App. 130, 969 S.W.2d 672
FACTS: Eula Mae Redmon conveyed certain real estate to her children, W. C. Sewell, Billy Sewell, and Melba Taylor, by means of a January 1993 deed. The deed recited that the property was conveyed to the three grantees "jointly and severally, and unto their heirs, assigns, and successors forever," subject to a life estate retained by Mrs. Redmon. W. C. Sewell died in November 1993. Billy Sewell died two years later. After Mrs. Redmon passed away in 1997, Melba Taylor filed a declaratory judgment action in which she asked the court to rule that her mother had intended to convey the property to the three grantees as joint tenants and that Taylor, by virtue of her brothers' deaths, had become sole owner of the property under the right of survivorship. Descendants of W. C. and Billy Sewell (referred to hereinafter as "the Sewell descendants") opposed Taylor's request. They contended that Mrs. Redmon's deed created a tenancy in common, and that they had succeeded to the ownership interests W. C. and Billy Sewell held prior to their deaths.
PROCEDURAL HISTORY: The trial judge considered extrinsic evidence of Mrs. Redmon's intent and concluded that she meant to convey the property to her three children as joint tenants with the right of survivorship. He therefore held that Taylor had become sole owner of the property. The Sewell descendants appealed.
ISSUE: The issue in this case is whether a deed from the late Eura Mae Redmon to her three children, W.C. Sewell, Billy Sewell, and appellee Melba Taylor, was a conveyance to them as tenants in common or as joint tenants with the right of survivorship.
RULE OF LAW: Under Arkansas law, a deed to two or more persons presumptively creates a tenancy in common unless the deed expressly creates a joint tenancy. They cite Ark.Code Ann. § 18-12-603 (1987), which reads as follows: “Every interest in real