Camp v. Camp
Supreme Court of Virginia
220 S.E.2d 257 (Va. 1975)
Robert Camp, Jr. and his mother Tincy Camp (defendant) took title to property under a deed conveying it to them "as tenants in common with the right of survivorship"; after Robert married Hilda (plaintiff) and later died, Hilda argued the deed's tenants-in-common language gave her and her children a one-half interest, while Tincy claimed the survivorship language made her sole fee-simple owner. At trial, the drafting attorney testified he had mistakenly used "tenants in common" when the parties actually intended survivorship rights, and the trial court agreed, ruling the property passed entirely to Tincy; Hilda appealed.
Whether a court may rely on extrinsic evidence of drafting error, or a later irreconcilable clause, to override a deed's clear and unambiguous "tenants in common" language in favor of a right of survivorship.