Probate appeal examines constructive-trust claim after deed to daughter

The Appeals Court considered an appeal in a probate dispute over whether a deed the decedent executed in favor of one daughter created a constructive trust in favor of other family members.

Appellant counsel argued the trial court misapplied the standard for constructive trust and erred by failing to find the required confidential relationship and equitable grounds for imposing a constructive trust. Appellant counsel pointed to testimony and post-death communications that she said showed the decedent repeatedly expressed intent that the property would benefit multiple family members and that the grantee (the daughter holding title) was aware of and acquiesced in those expectations. Counsel cited controlling equitable precedents, including Maffei v. Roman Catholic Archbishop of Boston and Scoville v. Matucci, and urged the panel to view the record as supporting the imposition of an equitable remedy.

Counsel for the grantee, Helen Lalo, urged deference to the trial judge’s credibility findings after a three-day bench trial. Appellee’s counsel, Steve Abraham, said the deed was prepared and recorded with no contemporaneous limitation or condition, and the judge found the transaction a gift. Abraham told the panel that the judge observed witnesses’ demeanor and concluded there was no evidence of fraud, undue influence or other equitable grounds to impose a constructive trust; he said the judge’s decision should be affirmed.

Panel questioning focused on whether the record supported a confidential relationship and whether subsequent conduct — such as permitting family members to live in the house without paying rent — amounted to acquiescence or to evidence of an equitable obligation.

After argument, the panel took the appeal under advisement. No opinion was announced from the bench.