Hutchinson National Bank v. Brown
Kansas Court of Appeals
753 P.2d 1299 (1988)
Harry Brown bought a certificate of deposit (CD) from Hutchinson National Bank (plaintiff), issued jointly to himself and his wife Ida Brown (defendant) as joint tenants; years later, he pledged the CD as security for a loan to help his grandson, without Ida's involvement. After Harry died and the grandson subsequently defaulted (declaring bankruptcy), the bank sued to satisfy the loan from the CD's proceeds; the district court held that Harry's pledge hadn't severed the joint tenancy, so upon Harry's death the entire CD passed to Ida free of any bank lien.
Whether one joint tenant may unilaterally sever a joint tenancy in property, such as a jointly held certificate of deposit, simply by pledging his own interest in it as collateral for a personal loan.