Halsted v. Central Savings Bank
Before: Beasly
Synopsis
Trust—Savings Bank Deposit.—Where money was deposited in.a savipgs bank in the names of the owner and his foster sister and housekeeper, and a.t the time of the deposit the parties signed an agreement which in substance provided that all moneys then on deposit or at any time thereafter to be deposited by either of them to the credit of the account were to be received by the bank on condition that the amounts thereof and all dividends thereon should be paid by the bank to the depositors, or either of them, or to the survivor of them, or to the personal representatives or assigns of such survivor, without reference t'o the original deposit of the moneys, an intention to create a trust in the deposits in favor of the sister and housekeeper was shown, and upon the death of the original depositor she was entitled to the same by right of survivor-ship.
[501]
BEASLY, J.,
pro
tem.
These two cases arose out of the deposit of certain moneys in the defendant banks by James Mandeville Halsted, deceased, in the names of himself and his foster sister and housekeeper, Anna N. Collins.
On the eighth day of March, 1913, the deceased deposited with the Union Savings Bank the sum of $12,915.87, and at the time signed with Mrs. Collins an agreement relating to this deposit which in substance provided that all moneys then on deposit or at any time thereafter to be deposited by either of them to the credit of this account were to be received by the bank on condition that the amounts thereof and all dividends thereon should be paid by the bank to the depositors, or either of them, or to the survivor of them, or to the personal representatives or assigns of such survivor, without reference to the original ownership of the moneys. This deposit was made in the names of James M. Halsted and Mrs. Anna Collins. Halsted at the time of making this deposit - was in perfect health. He told Mrs. Collins, as she testified in response to questions by appellants’ attorney, that this money was for her; that he wanted her to have it just as soon as anything happened to him; that he gave it to her, and it further appeared that what he meant by “anything happening to him” was his death. Of another witness, Mr. Furniss, he asked whether, in the event of his making a joint account in the bank, there would be any question about Mrs. Collins getting the money if anything should happen to him, and Mr. Furniss replied that there was no question about it. He told the witness De Pue that he had just been down to the bank and turned over or transferred a book carrying a ten thousand dollar deposit to Mrs. Collins, and he added, “Now, if anything happens to me Anna is provided for. ’ ’
The deceased suffered a paralytic stroke in the 'month of March, 1911, and died on the twenty-fifth day of October, 1914. There seems to have been no change in the account until the day previous to his death, when Mrs. Collins transferred the account to her own name.
The court found that the claim to these funds made by the plaintiffs, as executors of Mr. Halsted’s will, was without foundation and invalid; that the estate of the deceased had no interest in the money, and that the same was the sole and separate property of Mrs. Collins, to the possession of
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