Opinion ID: 1784411
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: joint account payable to either or survivor

Text: The undersigned agree and declare that all funds now or hereafter deposited in this account are, and shall be, our joint property and owned by us as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, and not as tenants in common; and upon the death of either of us, any balance in said account shall become the absolute property of the survivor. The entire account or any part thereof may be withdrawn by, or upon the order of, either of us or the survivor. It is especially agreed that withdrawals of funds by the survivor shall be binding upon our heirs, next of kin, legatees, assigns, and personal representatives. /s/ Mrs. F.K. Bethay /s/ Etma R. Cooper
Bethay's September, 1983, will named her sister, Etma Cooper, and Cooper's son, O.R. Cooper, as Co-Execut(rix/or), [2] and on November 7, 1986, they offered the will for probate in the Chancery Court of Itawamba County. It soon became apparent not much passed under the will if the survivorship clauses controlled the CDs, and, no doubt because of this, the six grandnieces  Mary Denise Cooper Wallace, Melinda Annette Cooper, and Angela Ione Cooper, and their three brothers, Timothy Allen Cooper, Orman Robison Cooper, II, and Leonard Kirk Cooper  filed their complaint, challenging the will substitutes on a variety of grounds. The Chancery Court charted a narrow course and found that Bethay, during her lifetime, took certain Certificate of Deposit, savings and checking accounts and placed them in joint accounts with her sister, Etma R. Cooper, solely for the convenience of Jetta Robison Bethay without any intention by Jetta Robison Bethay of Etma R. Cooper having any rights of survivorship in said accounts. The Court then held Cooper a fiduciary for her sister and ultimately trustee for her grandnieces and grandnephews. The Chancery Court's bottom line is that Bethay's entire estate passed under her will to her grandnieces and grandnephews, share and share alike. Cooper now appeals to this Court.