Recent Missouri Case: A Deed Will Not be Reformed Absent Mutual Mistake

Reformation of a deed may occur upon the parties’ mutual mistake, meaning that “both have done what neither intended.”  The quantum of proof is clear, cogent, and convincing evidence.  Here, the trial court found that parents intended to convey a life estate in land to themselves, and a remainder to two of their children; but the deed added a third child to the remainder by the parents’ scrivener’s error.  The Court found that the error constituted a unilateral mistake, which supports reformation only when concealed by bad faith conduct, which is absent from the pleadings and record.  Accordingly, the Court did not allow the deed to be reformed.