Williams v. Grogan

Charles Williams died leaving his entire estate to his wife, Annie Williams, and his son, Charlie Williams (plaintiff). In 1953, Annie executed a will devising her estate to various beneficiaries, none of whom were Charlie. Then, in 1954, Annie and her attorney, John Blocker, met with Charlie and encouraged him to deed his substantial interest in Charles’s estate over to Annie so that she could protect the assets for his benefit. Charlie was not made aware of Annie’s 1953 will or that it disinherited him. Annie died in 1955, leaving her 1953 will in force. After Annie’s death, Charlie challenged her will, arguing that their oral contract should be enforced or, in the alternative, that a constructive trust should be imposed on Annie’s estate for his benefit. George Grogan (defendant), a beneficiary under Annie’s will, countered, arguing that Charlie had failed to meet his burden of proof to establish the alleged oral contract. At trial, Charlie testified that Annie promised to die intestate, allowing Charlie to inherit as her sole heir. It was undisputed that Annie did not provide any consideration in exchange for Charlie’s interest in Charles’s estate other than the alleged oral contract. The trial court held that Charlie had failed to prove the existence of the oral contract by clear-and-convincing evidence and denied Charlie’s request to impose a constructive trust. Charlie appealed.