Court Held That Executor Had A Right To Funds In Joint Account

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In The Estate of Brown, the court of appeals affirmed a summary judgment for an executor, holding that the executor had the right to funds in a joint account. No. 04-11-00541-CV, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 5087 (Tex. App.—San Antonio June 27, 2012, no pet. history). The account agreement signed by the decedent listed Williams as the beneficiary on several accounts, but listed his percentage as a beneficiary as 00.0%. After the decedent’s death, the executor and Williams litigated who rightfully owned the funds in the accounts. Williams filed a motion for summary judgment and attached an affidavit from the bank stating that the 00.0% percentage was erroneous. The executor objected to the affidavit on the ground that it violated the parol evidence rule. The trial court sustained the objection and ruled that the executor had the right to the funds. On appeal, Williams did not properly challenge the trial court’s evidentiary ruling, and the court of appeals affirmed the striking of the bank’s affidavit. The court of appeals then affirmed the summary judgment for the executor because the only evidence in the record was the membership agreement, which unambiguously stated that Williams was a 00.0% beneficiary.

 

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