Opinion ID: 1347445
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Joint Account-Payable to Either or Survivor.

Text: We agree and declare that all funds now, or hereafter, deposited to this account are, and shall be, our joint property and owned by us as joint tenants with 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 The entire account or any part thereof may be withdrawn by, or upon the order of, either of us or the survivor.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 of the survivor shall be binding upon us and upon our heirs, legatees, assigns and personal representatives. (Signed) W. H. Havens (Signed) Mrs. Eva Havens. It is interesting to note that this card is identical in all respects, except for the signatures, with the one with which we were concerned in McManis v. Keokuk Savings Bank & Trust Company, 239 Iowa 1105, 33 N.W.2d 410. At the time of the death of W. H. Havens there was in this account the sum of $1,211.40, which is claimed by Eva Havens as her property. On January 9, 1948, W. H. Havens, knowing himself to be afflicted with an incurable disease, made a will, which will be set out in full later herein. Prior to the time of making the will, he had from time to time purchased United States government bonds in the face value amount of $4,800, which were worth about $3,900 at the time of his death. Most of these were made out to W. H. Havens or Eva Havens, although a few, both in number and amount, were made to W. H. Havens, payable on death to Eva Havens. W. H. Havens had been the owner of a sixty-acre farm which he had sold in the autumn of 1947. The final payment on this tract was made on March 1, 1948, in the sum of $6,800. Of this, W. H. Havens used $6,000 to purchase further United States government Series E bonds on March 2, 1948; and these he also directed to be issued to W. H. Havens or Eva Havens. At the time of his death these bonds, including both those purchased before the making of the will and those bought afterward, were of an actual value of $9,678. It is these bonds, and the bank account above referred to, which are the subject of this controversy. For some time before his death, W. H. Havens had owned a ten-acre tract in the town of Mystic, upon which was a house used as the homestead of himself and his wife. However, about the month of April, 1948, he sold something over nine acres, not including the house; the final payment on this contract coming shortly before his death in the sum of about $700, and being deposited in the account in the Centerville National Bank. He had very little other property, except for household goods. The net amount of his estate, if the bank account and the actual value of the bonds are included, would not exceed $11,000. Excluding the account and the bonds, and of course, the furniture and the homestead which were specifically given to his widow, the defendant, by his will, his estate totalled slightly over $700; an amount insufficient to pay debts and costs of administration. The will above referred to is herewith set out: I, W. H. Havens, of Mystic, Appanoose County, State of Iowa, being of sound and disposing mind and memory, do hereby make, publish and declare this My Last Will and Testament, hereby revoking and making null and void all other Wills and Testaments by me heretofore made. All property real, personal or mixed, of which I shall die seized or possessed, or to which I shall be entitled at the time of my decease, I give, devise, bequeath and dispose of in the manner following, to-wit: