Wright v. White

401 N.W.2d 288, 156 Mich. App. 1, 1986 Mich. App. LEXIS 3039
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedNovember 4, 1986
DocketDocket No. 81045
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 401 N.W.2d 288 (Wright v. White) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wright v. White, 401 N.W.2d 288, 156 Mich. App. 1, 1986 Mich. App. LEXIS 3039 (Mich. Ct. App. 1986).

Opinions

Beasley, J.

This case involves a dispute in regard to the final account of petitioner, Justice M. Wright, who was appointed guardian of Mabel Laveta Wright, now deceased, and conservator of her assets while she was alive. Petitioner appeals from an opinion and order entered by Judge Frank S. Szymanski of the Wayne Probate Court which determined title to property and allowed expenses in connection with the decedent’s estate.

The decedent lived in Detroit. Her surviving relatives were her brother, petitioner Justice M. Wright, who was seventy-eight years old when these proceedings were commenced, and two nephews. The decedent was two years younger than petitioner. Petitioner lived in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. In September, 1979, some friends of the decedent called petitioner and told him that he had better come to Detroit to look after his sister. Petitioner came to Detroit in the latter part of September and, when he arrived, the decedent’s mental condition was not very good. He stayed in Detroit until mid-December, when he was made the decedent’s guardian, and then took the dece[4]*4dent to North Bay with him. The decedent died in October, 1980. Petitioner claimed that two joint bank accounts in his and decedent’s names belonged to him alone. The heirs-at-law, respondents, claimed that those funds belonged to the estate.

Petitioner filed a final account entitled the "First Amended Account” and petition in support of the first amended account in which he requested reimbursement for various expenses. In the petition, he also requested that the two joint bank accounts in his and decedent’s names, which had been listed as joint assets in the inventory of the first amended account, be paid to him as the surviving owner of the assets. Those assets amounted to $81,844.91.

In his opinion, the probate judge, after making findings of fact and drawing conclusions of law, concluded that petitioner was not entitled "to receive assets from the guardianship estate based upon his claim of joint ownership with rights of survivorship.” He said that he found competent evidence to rebut what he described as the statutory presumption of ownership under MCL 487.703; MSA 23.303. The evidence to which he referred was the testimony of petitioner that the money in the joint accounts was entirely that of the decedent, that he recognized it as her money, and that he withdrew it from the joint account and put it in the "guardian’s account” solely for the purpose of making it available for her needs.

The record indicates that between 1975 and 1978, prior to her mental incompetency, the decedent had opened two joint accounts with rights of survivorship with petitioner. When she became mentally unable to take care of herself, petitioner, then in his late seventies, came from his home in North Bay, Ontario, to help her. This was in September, 1979, and, in December, it became [5]*5necessary for him to be appointed her guardian and the conservator of her estate. In December, 1979, and January, 1980, petitioner withdrew the funds from the joint accounts and placed them in one guardianship account.

Around that time, January of 1980, petitioner took the decedent to his home in North Bay where, as indicated, she died in October, 1980.

When petitioner terminated the joint accounts by withdrawing the funds, he was both the guardian of the decedent and a joint tenant with rights of survivorship with the decedent. By his own testimony, he did not believe that he had the right to take the joint accounts and convert them to his own use. When he withdrew the funds from the joint accounts, he put them in one bank under his attorney’s jurisdiction, with a special arrangement to wire funds to North Bay for the decedent’s benefit as needed.

When the sums were withdrawn from the joint accounts, the joint accounts ceased to exist and MCL 487.703; MSA 23.303 was no longer applicable. In fact, there was a considerable period of time between termination of the joint accounts and the decedent’s death.

When the funds were withdrawn from the joint accounts and deposited in the guardianship account, they were commingled with other money of the decedent. In fact, petitioner withdrew the balances in five other bank accounts that the decedent had in addition to the certificates of deposit which were held jointly with petitioner. During the guardianship, some moneys were withdrawn and used for the decedent’s maintenance.

When the decedent died, the money in the guardianship account became payable to the fiduciary of her estate. Petitioner had no authority to create a new joint tenancy. As previously indi[6]*6cated, the joint tenancy between the decedent and petitioner had ceased to exist when petitioner withdrew the funds from the joint accounts and commingled them with other guardianship funds in the guardianship account.

Thus, we conclude that the withdrawal of the money from the joint accounts served to terminate the joint ownership with rights of survival. The placing of the money in the guardianship account made those funds subject to the statutes regarding guardianship. The guardian had no authority to make a will for his ward. Neither could the guardian control or direct disposition of his ward’s property upon the ward’s death. Consequently, since the joint bank accounts had been terminated and since the money was in the possession of the guardian, upon the decedent’s death that property passed under the laws of descent and distribution. This conclusion is based on the representation that the decedent left no last will and testament. For these reasons, petitioner was not entitled to a sum equal to the amount that had earlier been in the joint accounts.

The dissent reaches an opposite conclusion, first reasoning that petitioner, as guardian, was without power to terminate the joint tenancy. This premise ignores the fact that, in addition to being guardian, petitioner was also the joint tenant with the decedent. As joint tenant, petitioner had the power to legally withdraw the funds from the joint accounts. That was exactly the reason for creating the joint accounts, namely, to make it possible for petitioner to get at some funds quickly on the decedent’s behalf in the event of an emergency, without the necessity of legal proceedings. Of course, that is what happened. When the decedent became unable to take care of herself and her own [7]*7affairs, petitioner, among other things, withdrew the funds in the joint accounts.

Since petitioner clearly had the power in his capacity as joint tenant to withdraw all or any part of the funds in the joint accounts, he likewise clearly had the power to terminate the joint tenancy. He did so by withdrawing all the joint funds and depositing them in a single guardianship account.

The dissent cites First Federal Savings & Loan Ass’n v Savallisch, 364 Mich 168; 110 NW2d 724 (1961), as authority for the proposition that the guardian of a mentally incompetent person lacks the power to terminate a joint tenancy with rights of survivorship created by a joint bank account. In fact, the dissent says that Savallisch prohibits a guardian from withdrawing money from a joint bank account. Most cases would not go that far, but would permit funds to be withdrawn for the incompetent’s necessities. But, under either interpretation, the rule is inapplicable here where one person, petitioner, was both guardian and joint tenant.

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Related

Cullmann v. Jedd
169 Mich. App. 778 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1988)
In Re Cullmann Estate
426 N.W.2d 811 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1988)
In Re Wright Estate
424 N.W.2d 268 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1988)
Wright v. White
430 Mich. 463 (Michigan Supreme Court, 1988)
In Re Wright Estate
401 N.W.2d 288 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
401 N.W.2d 288, 156 Mich. App. 1, 1986 Mich. App. LEXIS 3039, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wright-v-white-michctapp-1986.