In re Estate of Krakoff

179 N.E.2d 566, 87 Ohio Law. Abs. 387, 18 Ohio Op. 2d 116, 1961 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 304
CourtOhio Probate Court of Franklin County
DecidedJuly 26, 1961
DocketNo. 199657
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 179 N.E.2d 566 (In re Estate of Krakoff) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Probate Court of Franklin County primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Estate of Krakoff, 179 N.E.2d 566, 87 Ohio Law. Abs. 387, 18 Ohio Op. 2d 116, 1961 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 304 (Ohio Super. Ct. 1961).

Opinion

Walcutt, J.

This case is before the Court on the application of Anna Krakoff, executrix of the estate of Abraham Krakoff, for a declaration of the rights of the estate in connection with the handling of joint and survivorship bank accounts, building and loan accounts and corporate stocks. The surviving spouse was named as the beneficiary of joint and survivorship bank accounts and corporate shares. She has disclaimed all her right, title and interest in the survivorship assets.

Abraham Krakoff died testate at Columbus, Ohio, on December 26, 1960, leaving his surviving spouse and four adult children all of whom have appeared by answer and have asked for a declaratory judgment by the Court. His will was duly admitted to probate on January 10, 1961; and on March 22, 1961 the surviving spouse elected to take under the statute of descent and distribution and against the last will and testament.

At his death the decedent was the owner of eight joint and survivorship savings accounts and one checking account on deposit with eight different financial institutions. He was the owner of joint and survivorship stock certificates, issued by five different corporations. Anna Krakoff as the surviving joint tenant submitted to this Court her disclaimer of all her interest and has asked that the accounts and stocks disclaimed be ad[389]*389ministered as probate property as fully as though no effective designation of survivorship had been provided by the decedent.

The Court is presented with the problem of determining the effect of a disclaimer of non probate property under Ohio law and to determine the path of devolution. The Court has no knowledge of an explicit precedent holding that at the death of a cotenant the surviving joint tenant can disclaim the benefit of the assets. There is available for guidance an impressive current of authority which has set the course in the direction of affirming virtually a full right to disclaim without particular concern as to whether the disclaimer deals with contract rights or with property ownership.

In the area of contract rights disclaimers have been sustained in a variety of situations. Generally, a third party beneficiary of a contract may renounce its benefits. In most situations, acceptance is usually presumed in the absence of some aspect of burden. Rhorbacker v. Citizens Building Association, 138 Ohio Ct., 273 and Trimble v. Strother, 25 Ohio St., 378.

Property doctrines contain equally well recognized rights in a donee of personal property to reject the gift. Stated in the ordinary language of the cases, acceptance of the gift is an element in its creation, but will be presumed if it is without burden. Streeper v. Myers, 132 Ohio St., 322; McCoy v. Gosser, 8 Ohio App., 145.

A similar rule applies as to real estate conveyances: For more than a century, Ohio courts have recognized that the grantee of a conveyance of real estate has full legal power to reject the grant of property. “It is a general rule that acceptance by the grantee is necessary to constitute a good delivery.” Lessee of John Mitchell v. Ryan, 3 Ohio St., 377, and others. Since acceptance is necessary as an element, the same notion implies an inherent right to reject, renounce or disclaim. Thus a beneficial interest under a trust agreement may be disclaimed by the beneficiary.

The act of appointment by the donee of a power of appointment relates back to the original conveyance by the grantor. Cleveland Trust Company v. McQuade, 106 Ohio App., 237. Viewed this way, the act of appointment is dependent upon the terms of the original property grant. It is well established [390]*390that the grantee who has received property through the exercise of a power of appointment has the legal power to reject the grant.

The additional fact of death added to the fact pattern in a disclaimer of either contract rights or property interests makes only a partial difference depending upon the presence of testacy. Ohio statute particularly recognizes the right of a beneficiary to refuse a bequest of a legacy and prescribes the result that in the absence óf a residuary clause in the will, the bequest or legacy shall descend as intestate property. Section 2113.60, Revised Code.

Even without the aid of this statute, renunciations of testamentary successions have been explicitly recognized in three extensive types of cases-:

(1) Where the legacy is freighted with an obligation which the recipient is bound to assume, Ohio cases have repeatedly recognized that a legatee or devisee may refuse to accept property. An example lies where, the legatee is charged with the duty to support another.

(2) Where the benefits of the legacy received might otherwise pass to creditors, notwithstanding that the result of the renunciation will be effective to deflect property to a close relative, the disclaimer is effective.

(3) When property can be effectively deflected to another by renunciation, it is immaterial that the motive is the hope that the tax collector will be thereby disappointed.

By contrast to the testacy rejection doctrine, an opposite line of cases has held that a beneficiary cannot reject rights conferred on him by operation of law. Where property has passed by intestacy, a disclaimer has been said not to be effective to deflect the property rights devolving by the statute of descent and distribution.

Ohio does not appear to have dealt with this intestacy distinction except inferentially when combined with a renunciation of testamentary succession.

The Court is not directly concerned in this case with either line of precedent; there is present no right of testate succession, nor is there involved any right created by operation of law under the statutes of descent and distribution. Each of [391]*391these are peculiar devices applicable to the law of devolution of property with its own special incidents.

This case does not involve survivorship doctrines as an aspect of property arrangements. If it did, at least as to real estate, it was long ago held that the common law joint estate with its accretive rights through survivorship did not survive the emigration to Ohio. Instead of property rights, we have here the benefits of lifetime contractual arrangements under a well established dichotomy of legal fundamentals.

Over the last half century, numerous strong Ohio decisions have staked out a pervasive doctrine which has recognized that obligations entered into between a decedent and a financial institution will be enforced in favor of a survivor where the decedent has plainly and unmistakenlv indicated his intention to create contractually the incident of survivorship. Cleveland Trust Company v. Scobie, 114 Ohio St., 241; and, Tax Commission v. Hutchison, 120 Ohio St., 361. The early cases seem to have turned upon the existence of a contract between the decedent and the survivor; the financial institution seemed to occupy a position somewhat analogous to a stakeholder. But the necessity of a contractual undertaking between the depositor and the beneficiary has been relaxed. The courts now recognize the obligation of the financial institution entered into at the unilateral request of the decedent. Rhorbacker v. Citizens Building Association, supra.

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Related

Clark v. Beyoglides
2021 Ohio 4588 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2021)
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Bluebook (online)
179 N.E.2d 566, 87 Ohio Law. Abs. 387, 18 Ohio Op. 2d 116, 1961 Ohio Misc. LEXIS 304, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-estate-of-krakoff-ohprobctfrankli-1961.