In re Estate of Thompson
Supreme
Court of
66
Johnson,
pp. 194-199
Facts: Richard opened two joint
and survivorship accounts with his wife, Carma Lee, as the other party. Near the end of his wife’s life, they had
marital problems and Thompson closed the accounts and transferred the money
into accounts solely in his name. Soon
thereafter, his wife filed for divorce, but she died before the divorce went
through. Carma Lee’s daughter was
appointed as executor of her will, and she claimed that Carma Lee’s estate was
entitled to half the amounts that were in the joint and survivorship accounts. Richard took exception. The referee found that Richard improperly
withdrew the money from the accounts in breach of a fiduciary duty to his
wife. The Court of Appeals reversed,
saying that all the money properly went to Richard upon Carma Lee’s death
because he was simply trying to preserve the funds for both parties’ mutual
benefit. The case is appealed to the Ohio
Supreme Court.
Issue:
Rule: NEW RULE! The interests in a joint account are
proportional to the net contributions of each owner.
Analysis:
Conclusion: Carma Lee’s estate gets
whatever proportion of the money she actually contributed.