Chandler v. Chandler

J.W. Chandler executed a 1964 deed granting his wife Maggie a life interest and their son J.P. Chandler (defendant) the remainder in 270 acres, then deposited the deed in a file at his bank with instructions to give it to J.P. only after J.W.'s death. The bank had no safe deposit boxes, so J.P. technically could have retrieved the deed under the bank's normal practices, though he never tried. J.W. and Maggie lived on the land until their deaths in 1972 and 1975; the bank then delivered the deed to J.P., who took possession after Maggie died. In 1980, six of J.P.'s siblings (plaintiffs) sued to invalidate the deed, arguing it was never validly delivered because J.W. could have retrieved it from the bank at any time. The trial court upheld the deed, and the siblings appealed.