Under the California Multi-Party Accounts Law, specifically Prob. Code 5203(a), when a party to a joint account dies, the surviving holder of the account takes the account proceeds in preference to the deceased party’s estate, absent clear and convincing evidence of a different intent. This is true even if the account signature card and other bank documents do not mention any right of survivorship. Here, the Court of Appeal affirms a judgment for the surviving account holder as against the estate of the decedent, finding there was substantial evidence to support the trial court’s finding of no clear and convincing evidence of a contrary intent.
California Court of Appeal, Second Appellate District, Division Two (Johnson, J.); October 13, 2017; 2017 WL 4564028.