Drake v. DeBower

217 N.E.2d 444, 69 Ill. App. 2d 352, 1966 Ill. App. LEXIS 1426
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 18, 1966
DocketGen. No. 50,429
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 217 N.E.2d 444 (Drake v. DeBower) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drake v. DeBower, 217 N.E.2d 444, 69 Ill. App. 2d 352, 1966 Ill. App. LEXIS 1426 (Ill. Ct. App. 1966).

Opinions

MR. PRESIDING JUSTICE KLUCZYNSKI

delivered the opinion of the court.

The issue involved herein is the correctness of an order making disposition of balances in three savings accounts after the death of the depositor thereof.

The sequence of events leading up to the issuance of the order appealed from is as follows:

Gussie Anderson, the decedent, on or about July 24, 1959, opened savings account No. 135897 at the Bell Savings and Loan Association, executing an instrument entitled “Declaration of Trust — Revocable” in which Laura Therien and Virginia De Bower were designated as beneficiaries. The pertinent provisions of the agreement are as follows:

DECLARATION OF TRUST — REVOCABLE
(One Trustee)
By this Declaration of Trust dated July 24, A.D. 1959 and known as Trust No. 28289, the undersigned hereby declares that the withdrawable capital account established with the Bell Savings and Loan Association, and issued in the name of the undersigned as trustee, including all additions hereafter made or accumulations resulting therefrom, is held in trust by the undersigned in accordance with the terms hereof for the following beneficiary (or beneficiaries, as tenants in common), who shall have an interest in the withdrawal value of said account in the proportion set opposite each beneficiary’s name: . . .
The terms and conditions under which the undersigned holds said capital account are as follows:
1. All earnings thereon shall be added to the withdrawable capital in said account and become and remain a part of this trust, subject to the terms hereof, unless the undersigned, as trustee, shall direct that the same be paid to the undersigned for his own personal account and use.
2. Upon compliance with the rules and by-laws of the Association, the undersigned, as trustee, shall have the right to vote, to sign and execute proxies with respect to the withdrawable capital comprising said account or the voting thereof, to make payments upon, withdraw, surrender and redeem and otherwise deal with respect to said withdraw-able capital and the withdrawal value thereof as fully as though owned absolutely by the undersigned. However, upon any such withdrawal from said account by the undersigned, as trustee, the trust hereby declared shall be revoked as to the value of the withdrawable capital so withdrawn and the undersigned shall retain the proceeds of such withdrawal for his own personal account and use.
3. The undersigned has the right at any time to change the beneficiary or beneficiaries or the proportionate interests or in any manner to amend this trust, but it is understood that no such change or amendment shall be effective as to the Association unless and until written notice thereof in such form as the Association shall prescribe is delivered to the Association at its office in Chicago, Illinois.
4. The death of any beneficiary before the death of the undersigned shall operate as a revocation of the interest of that beneficiary in this trust and the interest of such deceased beneficiary shall vest in the undersigned individually. The death of all the beneficiaries of this trust before the death of the undersigned shall operate as a complete revocation of this trust.
5. Upon the death of the undersigned the surviving beneficiaries shall become entitled to their proportionate interests in the withdrawal value of said account as provided by this Agreement or any amendment thereof as herein authorized.

On or about February 26, 1960, the decedent opened Account No. 283266 in the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago in her name, as Trustee, executing a document entitled “Individual Trust Account,” in which Laura Therien, Hilda R. Madson and Alida E. Drake were designated as beneficiaries. The pertinent provisions of that agreement are as follows:

Discretionary Revocable Trust Agreement With Designated Successor Trustee
The funds in the account indicated on the reverse side of this instrument, together with earnings thereon, and any future additions thereto are conveyed to the trustee as indicated for the benefit of the beneficiary as indicated. The conditions of said trust are: (1) The trustee is authorized to hold, manage, invest and re-invest said funds in his sole discretion; (2) The undersigned grantor reserves the right to revoke said trust in part or in full at any time and any partial or complete withdrawal by the original trustee shall be a revocation to the extent of such withdrawal; (3) In the event of the death of said trustee ... is appointed successor trustee, and in the event of his death . . . is appointed successor trustee, and such successor trustees shall have the powers of the original trustee; (4) This trust is for the life of said beneficiary and six (6) months and if not revoked within six (6) months after the death of said beneficiary, funds in said account shall be the property of the estate of said beneficiary; (5) the association in which such funds are invested is authorized to pay the same or to act in any respect affecting said account before or after the termination of this trust upon the signature of the trustee and has no responsibility to follow the application of the funds.

On or about July 6, 1962 she opened a joint savings account No. 358869 in the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago in her name and that of Alida E. Drake. The pertinent provisions on the signature card are as follows:

Joint Savings Account, Proxy. One Signature for Withdrawal. Account No. A-358869 Anderson, Gussie and Drake, Alida E. 7/6/62 (Type all Names) (Last Name) (First Name) (Middle Name)
As joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common the undersigned hereby apply for a membership and for a Joint Savings Account in the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Chicago
and for the issuance of evidences of membership in the joint names of the undersigned as joint tenants with right of survivorship and not as tenants in common.

She then executed a Will on August 8, 1963 naming her sister, Hilda R. Madson, executrix, and therein providing as follows:

Second. I give devise and bequeath to my niece, Virginia James De Bower, all my property real, personal and mixed of which I may die siezed [sic]. This shall also include the following savings accounts :
First National Bank Account No. 1647347
Bell Savings and Loan Account No. 135897
First Federal Savings and Loan Account No. 283266
First Federal Savings Account No. 358869

She died August 21, 1963 and the Will was admitted to probate, and left surviving her:

Hilda R. Madson, sister

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Related

In Re Estate of Anderson
217 N.E.2d 444 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1966)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
217 N.E.2d 444, 69 Ill. App. 2d 352, 1966 Ill. App. LEXIS 1426, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/drake-v-debower-illappct-1966.