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authority over the business bank accounts. Mr. Riffe was the
sole lessee of safe deposit box 204 at First Gulf Bank and safe
deposit box 276 at Barnett Bank. He was the only person whose
name was on the signature cards, and the only person authorized
to have access to those boxes.
The lease or signature card for Mr. Riffe's safe deposit box
of NCNB is not in the record. However, Kaltenbach testified that
it was solely in the name of Mr. Riffe and that Mrs. Pert could
not gain access to it without authority from the probate court.
Mrs. Pert did not list the $268,000 as a jointly owned asset
passing outside of probate on the Preliminary Notice and Report.
We conclude that the cash from all three safe deposit boxes
belonged solely to Mr. Riffe.
Petitioners contend that respondent failed to prove that the
money did not belong to both Mr. Riffe and Mrs. Pert because she
worked hard in the two businesses. We disagree. We are
convinced that she worked hard in the businesses, but we think it
is implausible that Mrs. Pert's earnings would be part of a cash
hoard kept by her husband without her knowledge.
Petitioners point out that Mrs. Pert opened accounts on
April 16, 1991, at C&S in her own name and not in the estate's
name, and contend that this shows that the cash in the C&S
accounts was not solely Mr. Riffe's property. We disagree.
Kaltenbach testified that he allowed Mrs. Pert to do that because
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