In re the Estate of Butta
746 N.Y.S.2d 586, 192 Misc. 2d 614, 2002 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1046 (2002)
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Rule of Law:
The statutory presumption that a joint bank account vests title in the survivor upon the death of a co-depositor can be established by clear proof that the deposit was made and credited with survivorship intent, even in the absence of a signature card containing express survivorship language.
Facts:
- Helen Butta's great-nephew, Nicholas Pagani, assisted her with various chores and financial tasks after her husband died in 1989.
- On January 23, 1996, Butta used $240,000 of her own funds to open a joint bank account at Chase Manhattan Bank in her name and Pagani's name.
- Throughout the account's existence, Pagani made all withdrawals, totaling over 200 transactions, for his sole personal benefit.
- All bank statements and canceled checks were mailed to Butta's residence, and she reported all interest earned from the account on her personal income tax returns.
- On June 23, 1999, Butta executed a will and a revocable trust for her nearly $4 million estate, neither of which named Pagani as a beneficiary.
- At the time of Butta's death on August 18, 1999, the account balance was $151,485.75.
- The bank was unable to locate the original signature card for the account.
Procedural Posture:
- The executor of Helen Butta's estate (respondent) initiated a proceeding in the Surrogate's Court of Bronx County, New York, a court of first instance for probate matters.
- The purpose of the proceeding was to determine ownership of a bank account held jointly by the decedent, Helen Butta, and the petitioner, Nicholas Pagani.
- The case was tried before the court without a jury.
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Issue:
Does a bank account opened in two names create a joint tenancy with right of survivorship under New York Banking Law § 675(b) when the original signature card is missing, but other evidence, including bank employee testimony and bank policy, indicates an intent to create a survivorship account?
Opinions:
Majority - Lee L. Holzman, J.
Yes. The account is a joint account with right of survivorship, and the proceeds are payable to the petitioner, Nicholas Pagani. Under New York Banking Law § 675(b), a presumption of survivorship arises from the 'making' of the deposit with instructions to create such an account, which can be proven even without the original signature card. Here, the petitioner presented sufficient evidence to trigger the statutory presumption, which the decedent's estate failed to rebut. The uncontroverted testimony from the bank employee who opened the account established that the bank's policy was to open only joint accounts with survivorship rights and that she informed Butta and Pagani of this feature. This, combined with an electronic summary showing the account as 'J' for joint, was sufficient to establish a prima facie case for survivorship. The estate's argument that it was a 'convenience account' is contradicted by the fact that Butta received bank statements for over three years showing Pagani using the funds for his own benefit and never objected, indicating her intent to make a gift.
Analysis:
This case clarifies the application of New York's Banking Law § 675(b), establishing that the statutory presumption of a right of survivorship is not exclusively dependent on the presence of specific language on a signature card. The decision provides an avenue for survivors to prove intent through extrinsic evidence, such as bank policies and employee testimony, particularly when key documents are lost by a third party like a bank. This holding prevents the dispositive intent of a depositor from being defeated by an inadvertent loss of evidence and reinforces that the burden of proof to rebut the presumption (by showing fraud, undue influence, or that it was a convenience account) remains high.
