Bank IV Olathe v. Capitol Fed'l Savings & Loan Ass'n

828 P.2d 355, 250 Kan. 541, 1992 Kan. LEXIS 70
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMarch 20, 1992
Docket66,420
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 828 P.2d 355 (Bank IV Olathe v. Capitol Fed'l Savings & Loan Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bank IV Olathe v. Capitol Fed'l Savings & Loan Ass'n, 828 P.2d 355, 250 Kan. 541, 1992 Kan. LEXIS 70 (kan 1992).

Opinions

The opinion of the court was delivered by

McFarland, J.:

This is an action by the estate of a decedent to recover funds paid to an individual operating under a power of attorney executed by the decedent. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of one of the two defendant savings and loan institutions, and the estate appeals therefrom.

[542]*542The facts may be summarized as follows. On June 15, 1987, Tillie A. Flinn executed a durable power of attorney designating her nephew James C. Flanders and/or Martha E. Flanders (James’ wife) as her attorneys in fact. Tillie’s signature on the power of attorney was duly notarized and the estate admits the signature is Tillie’s. In January 1988 Tillie owned 12 certificates of deposit issued by defendant Capitol Federal Savings and Loan Association. The value of said CD’s was approximately $194,000. Some of the CD’s dated back to 1973.

On January 13, 1988, at approximately 10:00 a.m., Martha Flanders went to a Capitol Federal office. She had: (1) the durable power of attorney instrument; (2) five certificates of deposit; and (3) a hand-printed letter identifying Martha as an attorney in fact and stating that Tillie wished to cash the five CD’s (identified by number) that Martha had with her. At approximately 10:31 a.m., five checks were given to Martha in the aggregate amount of $135,791.34, representing the funds in said CD’s less penalties for early withdrawal in the aggregate amount of $4,757.70. Some of the checks were drawn in Martha’s name, individually, and some in the names of James and Martha, also as individuals. Nothing on the checks indicated that they were being issued to said individual or individuals in her or their representative capacities. Uncashed CD’s in the aggregate amount of $58,127.58 then remained at Capitol Federal. Tillie was found dead of heart disease later that day. The time of death on her death certificate is set at 11:30 a.m.

Bank IV, as administrator C.T.A. of Tillie’s estate, filed two lawsuits in 1990: (1) the action herein against Capitol Federal and Argentine Savings and Loan Association seeking the return of Tillie’s funds paid out to the Flanders; and (2) an action against Martha and James Flanders seeking return of said funds. The two actions were consolidated for discovery purposes only. The estate’s action against Argentine was settled and dismissed. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Capitol Federal and the estate appeals therefrom.

It is apparently undisputed that the Flanders spent all sums received by them from Capitol Federal for their personal usage, and that the funds cannot be traced and recovered. Other facts will be stated as necessary for the discussion of particular issues.

[543]*543The estate contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to Capitol Federal. Specifically, the estate contends:

1. Capitol Federal breached a duty to investigate before issuing the checks;
2. the terms of the durable power of attorney instrument were not broad enough to authorize the issuance of checks in the name or names of the attorney(s) in fact as individual(s); and
3. a procedural error by Capitol Federal entitled the estate to summary judgment in its favor.

DUTY TO INVESTIGATE

The estate contends that the size of the transaction involved herein and the forfeiture of interest thereon, coupled with the fact the checks were requested to be issued in the individual name(s) of the attomey(s) in fact were sufficiently suspicious circumstances to create a duty in Capitol Federal to investigate before releasing the funds. Specifically, the estate contends that Capitol Federal should have: (1) determined whether or not Til-lie’s “true wishes” were being carried out; and (2) checked to see whether Tillie was still alive. Capitol Federal argues that its duty only requires a favorable, comparison of the signatures of the depositor with that on the power of attorney, proper identification of the attorney in fact, and a determination that the transaction is within the scope of the power of attorney. Capitol Federal further contends any requirement for additional investigation would be unduly burdensome on lending institutions.

The first aspect of this issue concerns Tillie’s competency. It is unclear whether the estate is contending that Capitol Federal should have made inquiry into Tillie’s competency as of the time of the execution of the power of attorney or as of the time of the request for the transfer of funds, or both.

As far as the question relates to competency at the time of the transfer of funds is concerned, the matter is resolved by statute. Kansas has adopted the Uniform Durable Power of Attorney Act (K.S.A. 58-610 et seq.). Included therein is K.S.A. 58-611, which provides:

“All acts done by an attorney in fact pursuant to a durable power of attorney during any period of disability or incapacity of the principal have [544]*544the same effect and inure to the benefit of and bind the principal and the principal’s successors in interest as if the principal were competent and not disabled.”

Additionally, the instrument itself expressly provides: “This power of attorney is durable and shall not be affected by the subsequent disability or incompetence of the principal.”

Thus, incapacity of Tillie at the time of the withdrawal of funds is not a factor in the determination by the lending institution on whether or not to honor the request by an attorney in fact for withdrawal of funds. If it were otherwise, the very purpose of many powers of attorney, which is to allow the orderly transaction of a person’s business during contemplated disability or incompetency without expensive and time-consuming probate proceedings, would be defeated.

Did Capitol Federal have a duty, under the facts herein, to investigate into the capacity of Tillie at the time of the execution of the instrument in determining whether or not to honor the request for the withdrawal of funds? We believe not. The circumstances involved herein demonstrate the impracticality of imposing such a requirement. It is 10:00 a.m. on January 13, 1988. The attorney in fact is standing on one side of the counter seeking withdrawal of funds under a power of attorney executed on June 15, 1987. The test for capacity to execute a power of attorney would presumably be comparable to that for capacity to execute a will. An individual who is incompetent most of the time may have lucid intervals in which he or she has the capacity to contract or make a will. Determination of a person’s capacity to contract or make a will involves determination of capacity at the particular point in time the instrument was executed. Frequently, there is conflicting testimony among lay persons and health care professionals and the judicial hearings thereon are lengthy and involved. As a practical matter, how could the Capitol .Federal employee, responding to the attorney in fact’s request for withdrawal of funds, make such a determination? Capitol Federal notes in its brief that every working day it has over 500 transactions involving an agency or power of attorney relationship.

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Bank IV Olathe v. Capitol Fed'l Savings & Loan Ass'n
828 P.2d 355 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
828 P.2d 355, 250 Kan. 541, 1992 Kan. LEXIS 70, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bank-iv-olathe-v-capitol-fedl-savings-loan-assn-kan-1992.