A dispute arose during a passing of accounts over whether funds held in joint bank accounts between a deceased parent and two adult children formed part of the estate.
The accounts were opened with rights of survivorship and funded exclusively by the deceased.
Applying the principles in Pecore v. Pecore, the court considered evidence of intention, bank documentation, control of funds, tax treatment, and surrounding circumstances.
The court held that the presumption of resulting trust was rebutted because the deceased intended to gift the beneficial interest in the joint accounts inter vivos.
The evidence further supported that the surviving joint account holders were to distribute the funds equally among all siblings, either as direct beneficiaries or through a bare trust.
The funds therefore did not form part of the estate.
