Graves v. Graves

Citations

• 48 Wash. 664
• 94 P. 481
• 1908 Wash. LEXIS 938

Syllabus

<p>Husband and Wire — Community Peobbrty — Oral Agreement— Frauds, Statute or. An oral agreement between husband and wife that real property thereafter acquired by either should be the separate property of such party, is void and does not change its community character, in view of Bal. Code, § 4490 making the same community property, and Bal. Code, § 4517, providing that conveyances of any interest in real estate shall be by deed.</p> <p>Same — Evidence or Agreement — Surriciency. The evidence is insufficient to show an agreement that lots acquired by the husband were to be held as his separate property, where the wife flatly contradicts his testimony to that effect.</p> <p>Adverse Possession — Hostile Character — Tenants in Common —Divorced Husband and Wire — Evidence—Surriciency. There is no sufficient evidence of a holding of real estate by a husband adversely to his divorced wife, so as to make the same separate instead of community property, where it appears that in his action for a divorce no mention was made of the property, the wife having at that time on file her community property claim to the same, to the knowledge of the husband; since the decree of divorce left them tenants in common, and possession and receipt of rents and payment of taxes by him thereafter for ten years, without communication with his cotenant, will not constitute adverse possession.</p> <p>Equity — Laches—Tenancy in Common — Paetition. An action by a divorced wife for partition of community property, in possession of the husband as a tenant in common, is not barred by laches, where the husband had collected rents and paid taxes for thirteen years, and there had been no accounting and no improvements made since the divorce.</p> <p>Ceow, J., dissenting.</p>