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White v. Sargent6/2/2005
en he created the trust.
Ms. White contends that, in order to support her claim of fraudulent intent, Mrs. Sargent "must show that she had an equitable or legal interest in the assets transferred and that the transfer was made to deprive her of these rights, or that she detrimentally relied on any representations of the decedent as to the transfer of his assets." Additionally, she maintains that Mrs. Sargent "was required to prove that [Mr. Sargent] induced her to surrender any legal or equitable rights to the trust property to come within the definition of fraud." These arguments fail. First, Mrs. Sargent had no obligation to show that she had any equitable or legal interest in the trust assets because, as we have already stated, supra note 14, her ownership of the property would be relevant only in divorce proceedings, whereas at issue here are her rights as a surviving spouse to property owned by her deceased husband. Second, as Mrs. Sargent correctly points out in her brief, "the 'fraud on marital inheritance rights' doctrine does not require fraud in the classic sense, but refers to any inter vivos transfer that is deemed an improper circumvention of the marital rights of the surviving spouse." As one commentator has stated, "Fraud in this context has no definite meaning; it is a statement of the result of the cases which invalidate the transfer rather than a reason for reaching it." Sykes, Inter Vivos Transfers in Violation of the Rights of Surviving Spouses, 10 MARYLAND L. REV. 1, 7 (1949).
3. Participation in the fraud by the transferee. This factor is not at issue in this case. The trial court found, and the parties agree, that the trustees did not participate in the fraud against Mrs. Sargent.
4. "Brink of death" transfer. Mr. Sargent created the trust in August 1998 and died almost two and a half years later, in January 2001. The trial court held that, while "twenty-nine months is more than ample time in which to transfer assets to a trust and to do so in good faith, other factors prevent the court from holding that this transfer was in good faith." In particular, the court focused on the fact that Mr. Sargent knew he was in poor health when he created the trust, and that he lived "in fear of sudden death." The evidence supports the court's conclusion. Most notably, the court had before it a complaint in a medical malpractice action which Mr. Sargent filed in December 1991 against George Washington University Hospital. In that complaint, Mr. Sargent alleged that after suffering a cardiac arrest and two strokes, he was aware that his "current heart failure and disability . . . irreversible, and [he was] now subjected to sudden death."
Appellants failed to rebut this evidence. On appeal, Ms. White states in her brief that " hile it is true that [Mr. Sargent] had a history of medical illness, the creation of the trust for the purpose stated, primarily to provide for long term care, support, and education of his two minor children, is consistent with his stated intent to individuals who knew him well." But the only evidence before the trial court on the subject of "his stated intent to individuals who knew him well" was the affidavit from Ms. Smith mentioned in footnote 16, supra. That affidavit was not sufficient to rebut Mrs. Sargent's showing that the transfer was made in contemplation of death. On the evidence presented, the trial court could reasonably conclude that the creation of the trust was a "brink of death" transfer.
5. Degree to which the surviving spouse is left without support. Finally, the court concluded that " ithout any assets assigned to the trust, Mrs. Sargent has essentially no means of support." Appellants do not seriously di
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