Sheehan v. Allen

Citations

• 67 Kan. 712
• 74 P. 245
• 1903 Kan. LEXIS 318

Syllabus

<p>SYLLABUS BY THE COURT.</p> <p>1. Partition — Necessary Parties. The general creditors of the estate of a deceased person are not proper parties to an action between the heirs of the decedent for the partition of real estate left by him, and only under exceptional states of fact should his administrator be joined.</p> <p>2. Conveyance — Insane Grantor — Offer of Restitution of Consideration. In an action to set aside a deed claimed to have been executed without sufficient mental capacity on the part of the grantor to convey, it is not necessary to make an offer to return the consideration of the deed, or to reimburse the grantee for outlays by way of such consideration, when the payment and furnishing of such consideration are denied by the parties assailing the transfer, and the good faith of the grantee in procuring the deed is impugned.</p> <p>3. Attorney and Client — Privileged Communication. The payment of a retainer or fee is not indispensible to the formation of the relation of attorney and client within the meaning of the statute concerning the competency of witnesses to testify; and if a person consults an attorney at law for the purpose of obtaining legal advice and assistance upon matters he deems ©f importance, and such attorney permits the consultation to proceed and accepts confidences relating to such matters, and obtains information regarding them, the relation of attorney and client is thereby established between the parties, the communication so made and the advice given thereon are privileged, and the attorney is incompetent to testify to them without his client’s consent.</p> <p>4. - Insane Client. The rule announced in paragraph 3 above prohibits an attorney from disclosing privileged matter as a basis for an opinion that the client was of unsound mind at the time of the consultation.</p> <p>5. - When Attorney may Testify. An attorney may express his opinion regarding the sanity of his client' from observations made in common with others in a