Lakatos v. Estate of Billotti

Frank and Carolyn Billotti owned several parcels of land as joint tenants with right of survivorship; in 1982 Frank murdered Carolyn and then transferred the land he'd held jointly with her to his mother. Carolyn's parents, Andrew and Virginia Lakatos (plaintiffs), sued Carolyn's estate to compel transfer of the jointly held property to themselves as beneficiaries under Carolyn's will, but the trial court ruled the estate had no claim to the jointly held property because it had automatically passed to Frank upon Carolyn's death under ordinary survivorship rules. The Lakatoses sought review from the state's highest court.