Opinion ID: 1719679
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: SDCL 51-22-5 provides:

Text: Whenever a deposit has been made or shall hereafter be made, in any bank in the names of two or more persons, payable to any of them or payable to the survivor of them, such deposit or any part thereof, or any interest or dividend thereon, may be paid to any one or more of said persons whether the other be living or not, and the receipt or acquittance of the person or persons so paid shall be a valid and sufficient release and discharge to the bank for any payment so made. In Barbour v. First Citizens Nat'l Bank of Watertown, 77 S.D. 106, 86 N.W.2d 526 (1957) ( Wagner v. Wagner, 83 S.D. 565, 163 N.W.2d 339 (1968) overruled the portion of Barbour on burden of proof), we interpreted SDC 1939 § 6.0414 [1] as recognizing joint bank accounts on a contract theory, with the noncontributing party obtaining third-party beneficiary status. See also, O'Hair v. O'Hair, 16 Ariz.App. 565, 494 P.2d 765 (1972). See generally, Lundberg, Joint Bank Account Held Invalid, 3 S.D.L.Rev. 174 (1958); Lundberg, Joint Bank Accounts in South DakotaA Critical Analysis, 2 S.D.L.Rev. 88 (1957). The contract language on the back of the signature card signed by W.W. Kositzky and appellant Dorothy Westrum in 1959 provides: