Grayson v. Holloway

A.J. and Manervy Holloway executed a deed to G.P. Holloway conditioned on lifetime care and funeral expenses, but the habendum clause read "to have and to hold" the property to both G.P. Holloway and his wife Mae Holloway and their heirs, creating tension with the granting clause naming only G.P. Holloway as grantee. After the original grantors and later G.P. Holloway died, his heirs (plaintiffs) sued for partition, claiming they inherited fee simple title subject only to Mae's dower and homestead rights, while Mae (defendant) counterclaimed that the deed created a tenancy by the entirety giving her fee simple title upon G.P.'s death. The trial court ruled purely on the ground that the granting clause controls over other deed provisions, awarding fee title to G.P.'s heirs.