Duncan v. Vassaur

Edgar Vassaur, Jr. owned commercial real estate before marrying Betty, then conveyed it into joint tenancy with her; two years later, Betty fatally shot Edgar and, after being criminally charged, deeded the property to her father, William Duncan (plaintiff). Edgar's father, Edgar Vassaur, Sr. (defendant), as executor of his son's estate, claimed a one-half interest in the property along with liens for half the mortgage-satisfying insurance proceeds and half the cost of property improvements paid from the estate. Duncan sued to quiet title; the trial court read Oklahoma's slayer statute as barring a convicted killer from probate benefits but not from property passing outside probate (like joint tenancy survivorship), and awarded judgment to Duncan on the pleadings. Vassaur appealed.