Court Invalidates Pocket Deed As Fraudulent Effort to Defraud the Surviving Spouse

[The following is reprinted from my former newsletter, Your Estate Matters.]

A recent case from Tennessee illustrates the dangers inherent in using "pocket deeds." Pocket deeds are executed during the owner's life, but recorded after the owner's death.  While they are rarely used by attorneys or serious planners, they still find their way into the plans of individuals who may devise the schemes without legal advice.  

The case concerns the marriage of Ancie Lee Maness  and Jewell Maness,  When they married, he already had three grown sons and a 330-acre farm in Henderson County, Tennessee. He and Jewell both worked outside the farm.  Her income paid for food, utilities and household bills, but his  income was mostly used to pay expenses on the farm.

Mr. Maness ran a small herd of cattle at the farm, and allowed his sons to keep a few head of their own on the property. At different times, Mr. Maness even gave each of his sons an eight-acre parcel on the edge of the farm. It was clear, however, that Mr. Maness operated the farm, with only occasional help from his sons. Until 1992, the farm income, and Mr. Maness’ wages, went to pay off a mortgage on the farm as well.

Shortly after Mr. Maness’ death in 1993, one of the sons informed Mrs. Maness that he had transferred the farm to them nearly ten years earlier. When she investigated, she discovered that Mr. Maness had signed a deed to the property, conveying it to his three sons, and had given the deed to his son Willie. He had instructed Willie and his wife not to tell anyone about the deed, and to hold it in their safe deposit box.  They had removed it and recorded it three days after Mr. Maness’ death, and the title now appeared to be in the sons’ names.

Mrs. Maness sued to set aside the transaction, alleging that it was fraudulent because it had the effect of depriving her of her statutory right to inherit a portion of her husband’s property. In Tennessee, as in most states, a surviving spouse is entitled to at least a share of the deceased spouse’s estate, and Mrs. Maness argued that the transaction deprived her of that right.

Noting the secrecy with which the deed was cloaked, the Tennessee Court of Appeals agreed with Mrs. Maness. The court also noted that even by a conservative estimate the farm constituted nearly two-thirds of the value of Mr. Maness’ estate, and Mr. Maness’ behavior in hiding the transaction from his wife indicated that he had intended to defraud her of her inheritance rights. 

To read the entire case go here: Maness v. Estate of Maness, Tenn. Court of Appeals, November 12, 1997.