In re Estate of Dellinger, 224 S.W.3d 434 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2007, no pet.).
Decedent and Survivor opened a bank account. None of the boxes on the
front of the account application which could be used to indicate the
type of account were marked. The application provided that by signing,
the parties were agreeing to the terms of a separate account agreement
document which contained a provision stating that unless the application
provided otherwise, joint accounts had the survivorship feature. After
Decedent died, a dispute arose over ownership of the funds in this
account – did they belong to Survivor or did they pass under the
residuary clause of Decedent’s will? The probate court granted
Survivor’s motion for a summary judgment that the account had the
survivorship feature and a residuary beneficiary appealed.
The appellate court affirmed. The court recognized that under Probate
Code § 439(a) and cases such as Stauffer v. Henderson, 801 S.W.2d 858
(Tex. 1990), joint accounts do not have the survivorship feature unless
the deceased joint party has signed an agreement conferring the right of
survivorship. The court explained that although the account application
was silent, it expressly incorporated by reference the account
agreement. This agreement had clear language providing for survivorship
rights and thus Survivor was entitled to the funds remaining in the
account. The fact that Decedent did not sign this agreement was
irrelevant because “an unsigned paper may be incorporated by reference
in the paper signed by the person sought to be charged.”
Moral: The survivorship feature may be established by the terms of an
unsigned document incorporated by reference into the signed account
contract.