Dreisbach v. Serfass

Citations

• 126 Pa. 32
• 17 A. 513
• 1889 Pa. LEXIS 832

Syllabus

<p>(a) By a deed, inter partes, one, in consideration of a nominal sum and covenants to be performed, conveyed land to another, the former reserving a residence, and the latter covenanting to supply him with food, lodging, clothing, and all other necessaries during his lifetime, to be charged upon the premises until the covenants were performed.</p> <p>1. Such deed was not a testamentary instrument, because it contemplated an immediate possession taken by the grantee; nor was it an absolute conveyance to the grantee in fee; but merely an executory contract vesting an equitable estate in the grantee, the legal title remaining in the grantor during his lifetime.</p> <p>2. In an ejectment for the land, brought after the death of the grantor, such a deed will not avail the grantee or his representatives as proof of title, in the absence of evidence that the covenants in the deed on the part of the grantee have been performed, either by the grantee or his representatives.</p>