deKallos v. Weis

941 S.W.2d 630, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 172
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 11, 1997
DocketNo. 69936
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 941 S.W.2d 630 (deKallos v. Weis) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
deKallos v. Weis, 941 S.W.2d 630, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 172 (Mo. Ct. App. 1997).

Opinion

RHODES RUSSELL, Presiding Judge.

Arpad deKallos appeals from an order directing verdict and judgment in favor of Robert C. Weis, the Public Administrator of St. Louis County and the personal representative (“personal representative”) of the estate of Betty Hayes (“decedent”), in an action to determine title to a brokerage account. We find sufficient evidence was produced by de-Kallos to create a submissible case that the account was a joint account with a right of survivorship in deKallos. We reverse and remand.

Decedent and deKallos, an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ, were close friends. As years passed deKallos, at the request of decedent’s sister, began to “keep an eye out” for decedent whose health was deteriorating. In 1988 deKallos determined that decedent had not paid property taxes for three or four years on three houses that she owned. After exploring several possible options for paying the back taxes, de-Kallos finally convinced decedent that she needed to sell one of her homes. Her home in Ballwin eventually sold for $82,000. He helped decedent pay the back taxes from that amount and had some repair work done on her other two houses.

Decedent asked deKallos to continue to help her with her finances. He suggested that the remainder of her money should be invested in such a way so that it was easily accessible if bills came up. At decedent’s request, deKallos made an appointment with Edward D. Jones and Company (“Jones”). He took her to the appointment, although there is a dispute as to whether deKallos was in the room when decedent met with Michael J. Smith, the Jones representative. Smith indicated that deKallos was present, while deKallos maintained that he was not. At the meeting, a brokerage account was set up with both decedent’s and deKallos’s names on it. Several documents setting up the account were prepared at that time.

After decedent’s funeral in December 1990, deKallos told decedent’s sister and others that he had no interest in any of decedent’s money. The St. Louis County Public Administrator’s Office contacted deKallos after becoming aware of the account at Jones. deKal-los stated that he had merely been assisting decedent with her finances and that he had no interest in the account. The public ad[632]*632ministrator’s office prepared the following release and sent it to deKallos:

Comes now Rev. Arpad deKallos and hereby relinquishes any and all interest in all accounts which are currently established with Edward D. Jones & Co., in the names of Bessie Taylor Hayes and Rev. Arpad deKallos.

Instead of signing the form, deKallos typed the following at the bottom of the form:

TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN:
Because I had and have no “INTEREST” in any and all accounts of Bessie Taylor Hayes, ONLY RESPONSIBILITIES, I cannot sign this statement.

He typed his name on the bottom of the form and returned it to the personal representative. After discussing the situation with an attorney, deKallos claimed that he later understood for the first time that decedent, by setting up the joint account, had wanted him to have the balance of the account upon her death.

Personal representative filed a Petition to Redeem Account and attached deKallos’s typed statement as an exhibit. An order was entered authorizing the personal representative to redeem the Jones account which consisted of assets in the form of cash, a certificate of deposit, debentures, and similar securities. deKallos filed a Motion to Vacate and Set Aside Order. That motion was denied and no appeal was taken.

On June 6, 1991, deKallos filed a Petition to Determine Title to Property. In response, personal representative filed an Answer and First Amended Counterclaim, in which he sought a constructive trust from the court, to have the proceeds of the Jones account be paid and delivered to him.

Smith was the primary witness for deKal-los at trial. Smith testified that decedent wanted to set up an account in which both she and deKallos had access to the funds so that deKallos could assist her in paying her bills. Smith testified that that was the primary reason for creating the joint account. Smith explained to decedent that if she set up a joint account, deKallos would have access to the funds, and upon her death deKal-los would be entitled to the balance of her funds. According to Smith, decedent indicated that she wanted to set up a joint account. Smith had documents prepared setting up the joint account.

During Smith’s testimony, four documents were entered into evidence. The first document, Exhibit 1, was titled “Letter of Authorization to Change Ownership.” It instructed Jones to change the title of the account from decedent alone, to decedent and deKal-los. Decedent signed that document. The second document was a New Account Form signed by Smith. It listed both decedent’s and deKallos’s names on the account. The third document was a W-9 which was used by Jones to confirm decedent’s social security number. Both decedent’s and deKallos’s names appeared on that form as well. Decedent’s signature also appeared at the bottom of the form. The fourth document entered into evidence was a monthly or quarterly statement to decedent from Jones. It was an internally produced document which bore both decedent’s and deKallos’s names. Following their names, the letters “JTWROS” appeared. Smith testified that those letters were the abbreviation for joint tenants with right of survivorship.

At the close of the deKallos’s case, both parties motioned for a directed verdict. de-Kallos’s motion was denied. The personal representative’s motion was granted. The trial court concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support a finding in favor of deKallos. deKallos’s Motion for New Trial was denied. This appeal by deKallos now follows.

In reviewing an order directing verdict in favor of a party, we review the evidence in a light most favorable to the non-moving party and give the non-moving party the benefit of all permissible inferences while ignoring contrary evidence and inferences, in order to determine whether the non-moving party made a submissible case. Heacox v. Robbins Educational Tours, Inc., 829 S.W.2d 600, 601 (Mo.App.1992).

In his first point, deKallos argues that the court erred in granting personal representative’s motion for directed verdict in that de-Kallos had made a submissible case that the [633]*633Jones account was a joint account with right of survivorship.

He first argues that a statutory joint account was established by decedent when she opened the Jones account, pursuant to § 362.470.1 RSMo 1994.1 That statute provides that deposits with banks and trust companies made in the name of the depositor and one or more other persons shall become the property of those people as joint tenants and may be paid to any survivor after the death of any one of the joint tenants. deKallos contends that the deposit into the Jones account was made pursuant to the statutory guidelines and therefore, by operation of law, title in the joint account passed to him as the surviving joint tenant. We disagree.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Spencer v. Estate of Spencer
313 S.W.3d 534 (Kentucky Supreme Court, 2010)
In Re Estate of Hayes
941 S.W.2d 630 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
941 S.W.2d 630, 1997 Mo. App. LEXIS 172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dekallos-v-weis-moctapp-1997.