ELDER’S DEEDS TO CAREGIVER’S CHILDREN ARE VOID
Here is a case where a homeowner and his wife having no children but the wife, from a previous marriage, has two sons, the “heirs.” After the death of the homeowner’s wife, a paid in-home caregiver was hired. A few short months later, the homeowner added the caregiver’s daughter as a joint tenant to the property by a grant deed. A few years later the homeowner quitclaimed his joint tenant interest in the property to the caregiver’s son. The next month, the homeowner died. The heirs, who lived out of state, hired an attorney who sued and declared that the joint tenancy grant deed and the quitclaim deed were void and of no legal effect. The trial judge agreed with the heirs and voided the grant deed and quitclaim deed. The judge ordered the return of the property back to the heirs.
This case is important because it reinforced the holding that Probate Code Section 21350 prohibits the children of a caregiver from receiving a gift of real property unless they prove by clear and convincing evidence that the transfer was not the result of fraud, duress, or undue influence.