Simpson v. Schoenemann

263 So. 2d 854, 1972 Fla. App. LEXIS 6688
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMay 4, 1972
DocketNo. O-486
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 263 So. 2d 854 (Simpson v. Schoenemann) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Simpson v. Schoenemann, 263 So. 2d 854, 1972 Fla. App. LEXIS 6688 (Fla. Ct. App. 1972).

Opinion

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING GRANTED

CARROLL, DONALD K., Acting Chief Judge.

On August 31, 1971, this court entered a per curiam order affirming the judgment appealed from herein. The appellant thereafter filed a petition for a rehearing of the said order. On December 8, 1971, we entered an order granting the petition and scheduled the cause for re-argument in the light of the decision of the Supreme Court of Florida in First National Bank of Leesburg v. Hector Supply Co., 254 So.2d 777 (Fla.1971). The said argument having been heard and the said per curiam order of affirmance having been reconsidered, we adopt the following [855]*855as our opinion and judgment in this cause.

The plaintiff in an action against his deceased wife’s niece to recover the proceeds of several bank and savings accounts has appealed from an order entered by the Circuit Court for Bradford County denying his motion for a judgment on the pleadings and rendering judgment in favor of appellee.

The sole question presented for our determination in this appeal is: when bank and savings accounts are established specifically in the name of both husband and wife as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, can either spouse, without the assent of the other, alienate or terminate the estate thus created by giving the assets to a third party so as to defeat the rights of the remaining spouse?

The plaintiff alleges in his amended complaint that his late wife, shortly before her death and without his knowledge or consent, closed certain bank and savings accounts which had been established in their joint names with the right of sur-vivorship, and gave the proceeds thereof to her niece, the defendant-appellee. This allegation was denied by the defendant in her answer. The plaintiff filed a motion for a judgment on the pleadings, contending that he was entitled to the proceeds of those accounts as a matter of law.

The seven bank and savings accounts involved in this litigation, according to the exhibits attached to the plaintiff’s amended complaint, are as follows:

The first account is a joint account in the Florida Bank at Starke, Florida, which provides in the signature card that the funds in said account were “ . . . the joint property of the undersigned,” and that:

“You are authorized to recognize either of the signatures below in payment of funds or the transaction of any other business. Either one or both or the survivor to sign checks. The signature of either one to be sufficient for withdrawal of all or any part of the funds standing to the credit of this account.”

The said account was in the name of John P. Simpson, Sr., or Isabel F. Simpson and each signed the signature card.

The second account is a joint account at First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Starke, the signature card providing on its face that John P. Simpson, Sr., or Isabel F. Simpson hold:

“as joint tenants with right of survivor-ship and not as tenants in common, and not as tenants by the entirety, . . .”

Said card further states on its face that

“You are directed to act pursuant to any one or more of the joint tenants’ signatures, shown below, in any manner in connection with this account and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, to pay, without any liability for such payment, to any one or the survivor or survivors at any time.”

The third account is a joint account at Guaranty Federal Savings and Loan Association of Gainesville, which account is applied for “As tenants by the entirety with the right of survivorship. . . .” The signature card provides in part on its face:

“You are directed to act pursuant to writing bearing the signature of any one of the tenants shown below in all matters related to this account.”

The card further provides in part:

“The payment or delivery of the withdrawal value of this account or other rights related thereto may be paid or delivered in whole or in part to either of the undersigned, who shall first act,..."

The fourth account is a joint account in the name of John P. Simpson or Isabel F. Simpson in First Federal Savings and [856]*856Loan Association of Gainesville, Florida, described on the face of the signature card as a:

“Joint Account with Right of Survivor-ship”

and expressly stating on its face that:

“Specimen signatures of each account holder appears below, and the association is hereby authorized to act without further inquiry in accordance with writings bearing any such signature.”

and stating on its face that:

“This account or any part thereof and dividends thereon may be withdrawn by any one of the undersigned persons or by the survivor or survivors thereof,..."

The fifth account is a joint account held by John and Isabel Simpson in the Fidelity Federal Savings and Loan Association of Jacksonville, the signature card stating that it is:

“JOINT AND SURVIVORSHIP ACCOUNT (One signature required for withdrawal)”

and is to be held:

“As joint tenants with rights of survivor-ship and not as tenants in common, and not as tenants by entirety, ...”

and further stating that:

“The Association is authorized to act pursuant to writings bearing any one or more of the joint tenants’ signatures shown below, in any manner in connection with this account and to pay all or any part of the funds credited to this account, without any liability for such payment, to or upon the signature of any one of the undersigned tenants or the survivor or survivors at any time.”

The sixth and seventh accounts are each a savings account in the First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Starke, Florida, in the name of John P. Simpson, Sr., or Isabel F. Simpson, stating on the signature cards of each that said accounts were held:

“As Joint Tenants with the Right of Survivorship and not as Tenants in Common.”

In the order appealed from herein, denying the plaintiff’s motion for a judgment on the pleadings, the Circuit Court held with reference to the above accounts:

“ . all of the above accounts were joint accounts with right of survivorship. Each party had the right to withdraw any or all funds without the consent of the other party.”

One of the decisions most heavily relied upon by the plaintiff in support of his basic contention in this appeal is Glasser v. Columbia Federal Savings & Loan Association, 197 So.2d 6 (Fla.1967). In that case the Supreme Court of Florida said, in effect, that either party may possess or use property held jointly by husband and wife, but neither, without the consent of the other, may change the character of the estate. In the Glasser case a check named a husband and wife as payees, which check was cashed by the husband without the knowledge or consent of the wife.

The case at bar, in our opinion, is controlled by the principles recognized by the Supreme Court of Florida in the recent case of First National Bank of Leesburg v. Hector Supply Company, 254 So.2d 777 (Fla.1971).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
263 So. 2d 854, 1972 Fla. App. LEXIS 6688, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/simpson-v-schoenemann-fladistctapp-1972.