Matter of Estate of Banko

622 N.E.2d 476, 1993 WL 414561
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 20, 1993
Docket82S01-9310-CV-1138
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 622 N.E.2d 476 (Matter of Estate of Banko) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Matter of Estate of Banko, 622 N.E.2d 476, 1993 WL 414561 (Ind. 1993).

Opinion

622 N.E.2d 476 (1993)

In the matter of the Estate of August F. Banko, Deceased.
Carol Banko Rogers, Appellant, (Petitioner below)
v.
THE NATIONAL CITY BANK OF EVANSVILLE, Personal Representative, Appellee. (Respondent below)

No. 82S01-9310-CV-1138.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

October 20, 1993.
Rehearing Denied February 7, 1994.

*477 James D. Johnson, Mattingly Rudolph Fine & Porter, Evansville, for appellant Carol Banko Rogers.

Gordon D. Wishard, Thomas H. Ristine, Kathleen S. Kiefer, Ice Miller Donadio & Ryan, Indianapolis, for amicus curiae: Indiana Bankers Assn., Inc.

David V. Miller, David E. Gray, Bowers Harrison Kent & Miller, R. Eugene Johnson, Thomas J. Kimpel, Statham, Johnson & McCray, Evansville, for appellee National City Bank of Evansville, Personal Representative.

KRAHULIK, Justice.

National City Bank of Evansville (Respondent-Appellee below) (the "Bank") seeks transfer after the Court of Appeals reversed the probate court's denial of Carol Banko Rogers' (Petitioner-Appellant) ("Rogers") petition to reopen the estate of August Banko. Matter of Estate of Banko (1992), Ind. App., 602 N.E.2d 1024.

In its petition to transfer, the Bank raises the following issues:

(1) Whether the Court of Appeals improperly applied the common law presumption of undue influence and invalidity to a joint account with rights of survivorship rather than the statutory presumption of validity under the Non-Probate Transfers Act[1]; and
(2) Whether the Court of Appeals erred by reweighing the evidence presented to the probate court.

Facts

August Banko ("Banko") and his first wife had three children, Shirley Banko Stephan, Carol Banko Rogers, and Elizabeth Banko Gower. After his first wife died, Banko remarried. His second wife also died. In 1973, Banko married Nadine Banko ("Nadine"). Banko remained married to Nadine until his death on April 21, 1990.

On May 3, 1990, Philip Siegel ("Siegel"), the attorney for Banko's estate, filed Banko's will with the probate court and successfully petitioned for the appointment of the Bank as personal representative. The probate court clerk sent notice of administration letters to all interested persons, including Banko's daughter, Carol Banko Rogers.

The Bank, as personal representative, timely filed the inventory of probate assets with the probate court on July 17, 1990. This inventory did not include any joint accounts, although in fact, joint accounts existed between Banko and Nadine. Rogers admits receiving the inventory. On August 23, 1990, the Bank filed a petition to determine inheritance tax, which included a schedule of all property owned by Banko. Although the schedule did not individually list the joint accounts, it did refer to accounts "jointly held with surviving spouse" on the appropriate schedule.

The final accounting and petition to settle the estate was filed by the Bank on October 17, 1990. The probate court clerk sent notice to all interested parties of the hearing on the final accounting and a notice of the hearing and filing was published *478 in the newspaper. No objections were filed. On December 19, 1990, the probate court approved the final accounting and authorized distribution. At the hearing on Rogers' petition to reopen the estate, Rogers testified that she did not receive the notice or a copy of the final accounting, but rather learned about them from her sister at Nadine's funeral.

Following the approval of the final accounting, Rogers made inquiries about the joint accounts to Siegel, Charles Michaels, the Bank's trust officer handling the Banko estate, the assessor's office, and Marlena Pind, Nadine's daughter. On January 17, 1991, Rogers went to the clerk's office of the probate court and copied the schedule of all property. In the spring of 1991, Rogers attempted to obtain financial information regarding the accounts through the use of subpoenas. However, Rogers made no attempt to intervene in Banko's estate. Banko's estate was closed on August 19, 1991, and the personal representative was discharged.

Meanwhile, Nadine died November 28, 1990, shortly before the final accounting in Banko's estate was approved. Her estate was opened on December 4, 1990. The copersonal representatives of Nadine's estate filed an inventory on December 12, 1990. This inventory included the accounts formerly held jointly by Banko and Nadine.

Rogers filed a claim against Nadine's estate because she believed Nadine's estate contained assets which should have been included in Banko's estate. After a hearing, the claim was dismissed.

Rogers also filed a petition to reopen Banko's estate on December 20, 1991. She asserted that it was in the best interests of the estate that it be reopened because assets owned individually by Banko were transferred into joint accounts with Nadine and were not listed on the schedule of all property. Rogers argued that a serious question remained as to whether these assets were distributed as Banko intended. After a hearing, the probate court denied the petition to reopen the estate. The probate court found that the estate should not be reopened because the evidence did not rebut the presumption that joint accounts are valid in the absence of proof otherwise, and that the relevant statutes were intended to bring finality to estate administration.

Rogers appealed. The Court of Appeals held that the probate court abused its discretion by refusing to reopen the estate. The Court of Appeals determined that the law recognizes a presumption of trust and confidence on one side and a corresponding influence on the other side in the husband-wife relationship. As a result of this relationship, the law presumes that improper influence was exerted and that a transaction between spouses is fraudulent where the spouse occupying the superior position deals with the other in a manner which allows the former to gain a substantial advantage.

In its petition to transfer, the Bank asserts that the Court of Appeals improperly reweighed the probate court's findings rather than determining whether the decision was clearly against the logic and effect of facts and circumstances, and that the Court of Appeals improperly held that the law required a presumption of improper influence and fraud.[2]

Joint Account Presumptions

The issues in this petition to transfer require us to interpret the Indiana's Non-Probate Transfer Act (the "NPTA") and, in particular, presumptions that arise under it. Ind. Code § 32-4-1.5-4(a) states: "[s]ums remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account belong to the surviving party or parties as against the estate of the decedent unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intention at the time the account is created."

The Bank asserts that this provision creates a statutory presumption that, upon the death of a party to a joint account, the *479 funds held in the joint account belong to the surviving party. The Bank argues that to successfully rebut this presumption, Ind. Code § 32-4-1.5-4(a) requires clear and convincing evidence of a contrary intent existing at the time the account was created. Accordingly, a party challenging the presumption of survivorship must meet its burden of proof without the aid of a presumption of undue influence.

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Bluebook (online)
622 N.E.2d 476, 1993 WL 414561, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/matter-of-estate-of-banko-ind-1993.