Title: Street v. Hilburn
Citation: 326 So. 2d 724
Docket Number: N/A
State: Alabama
Issuer: Alabama Supreme Court
Date: February 5, 1976

326 So. 2d 724 (1976)
Howard W. STREET, as Administrator of the Estate of Sam W. Street
v.
W.O. HILBURN et al.
SC 1347.

Supreme Court of Alabama.
February 5, 1976.
Denaburg, Schoel, Meyerson &amp; Ogle and Ben L. Zarzaur, Birmingham, for appellant.
Levine &amp; Levine, Birmingham, for appellee.
ALMON, Justice.
The appellant, Howard W. Street, as administrator of the estate of Sam W. Street, deceased, brought this action against appellees, Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Hilburn, for the return of certain monies which were withdrawn by Mrs. Hilburn from joint bank accounts with right of survivorship with the deceased. The withdrawals occurred after the death of Sam W. Street.
The deceased lived in the home of the appellees from February, 1971, until he died intestate on October 15, 1974. He was survived by a son and daughter; his wife, Mary C. Street, having died in May, 1971.
Prior to 1971 the deceased maintained three bank accounts at Birmingham Federal Savings and Loan Association. Two of these accounts were in the joint names of the deceased and his wife. The other was in the name of the deceased, his wife, and appellee, Mrs. Hilburn.
These three accounts were, during 1970 and 1971, transferred to three new accounts at Birmingham Federal Savings and Loan Association as follows:
1. The deceased on May 20, 1970, opened account No. SHC-488 with an initial deposit of $16,000.00. This account was in the joint names of the deceased, his wife, and Mrs. Hilburn.
2. The deceased on or about July 12, 1971, opened account No. 28033. This account was in the joint names of the deceased and Mrs. Hilburn.
3. The deceased, on or about July 27, 1971, opened account No. 4-1236. This account was in the joint names of the deceased and Mrs. Hilburn.
All the money deposited belonged to the deceased. Approximately three days after his death, Mrs. Hilburn withdrew all the money from the three accounts listed above, a total of $31,053.68.
The complaint alleged that the appellees had by diverse methods wrongfully obtained the funds from the estate. The trial court, after hearing evidence without a jury, awarded the monies in dispute to the appellees.
*725 Appellant argues that the deceased never intended to make a gift of any of the monies in question. He asserts that the law of gifts is here applicable, that the elements of an inter vivos gift were not shown, and that the monies properly belong to the estate of the deceased.
Appellant relies very heavily on First National Bank of Birmingham v. Hammel, 252 Ala. 624, 42 So. 2d 459, where the bank brought suit against Mr. and Mrs. Hammel to set aside the transfer of a joint savings account carried in the names of Mr. and Mrs. Hammel to the sole account of Mrs. Hammel as a fraud on the creditors of Mr. Hammel. It is true that the Hammel case was decided on the law of gifts. But here we have a different situation in that one of the parties is deceased and we must consider the effect of Tit. 5, § 255(4), Code of Alabama 1940, Recompiled 1958, which reads as follows:
So far as we have been able to ascertain this is a case of first impression. This subject is dealt with in 43 A.L.R.3d 971, particularly under the following sections: 8. Bank protection statutes, 9. Joint tenancy statutes, and 10. Statutes expressly establishing presumption of ownership in survivor.
The Supreme Court of New Hampshire in dealing with a statute similar to our own held in In re Wszolek Estate, 112 N.H. 310, 295 A.2d 444 (1972) that:
In Ward v. Marine Nat'l Bank, 38 N.J. 132, 183 A.2d 60 (1962), the New Jersey Supreme Court observed that:
We conclude that our statute is clear in its meaning and intent that the survivor of a joint bank account is entitled to the proceeds. The trial judge ruled correctly.
The judgment in this cause is hereby affirmed.
Affirmed.
HEFLIN, C. J., and BLOODWORTH, FAULKNER and EMBRY, JJ., concur.