Araiza v. Younkin
California Court of Appeal
116 Cal.Rptr.3d 315 (2010)
Relevant factsFree
Howery designated Younkin (defendant) as beneficiary on her savings account (a Totten trust), but her later living trust expressly directed that the same account go to Reeves upon her death; Howery never formally changed the account's beneficiary designation through the statutory methods for modifying multi-party accounts, and successor trustee Araiza (plaintiff) sought to convey the account to Reeves per the trust's terms.
IssueFree
Whether, upon the death of the original depositor to a multi-party account, the remaining balance is payable to the beneficiary designated on the account if there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent.