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According to the estate, the transfers of funds represented
by the November 1995 checks and the January 1996 checks consti-
tute gifts made by decedent because those checks were “authorized
and proper disbursements” under the laws of the State of Washing-
ton. In support of its position that the checks in question were
authorized and proper disbursements under the laws of the State
of Washington, the estate asserts:
Washington State law, RCW 30.22.050, provides for
various types of bank accounts, one of which is a joint
account. RCW 30.22.090(2) provides that funds in a
joint account belong to the person depositing the
funds. Finally, RCW 30.22.040(11) and (14) and RCW
30.22.140 provide that any individual who has the
current right to payment of funds pursuant to the
account agreement may issue checks on the account which
the financial institution is authorized to honor. * * *
Respondent counters the estate’s position as follows:
Respondent agrees with Petitioner that Floy
Christensen’s children were authorized by statute to
write checks on the joint account. Petitioner accu-
rately states that Wash. Rev. Code � 30.22.050 provides
for the creation of joint bank accounts and Wash. Rev.
Code � 30.22.090 provides that funds in a joint account
belong to the person depositing the funds. Petitioner
also argues under Wash. Rev. Code � 30.22.140 that any
individual who has the current right to payment of
funds pursuant to the account agreement may issue
checks on the account which the financial institution
is authorized to honor. Petitioner misconstrues this
statute.
Wash. Rev. Code � 30.22.140 is a provision for the
protection of financial institutions when they pay a
depositor named on a joint account who may not be the
actual owner of the funds paid. Clearly, a depositor
named on a joint account may withdraw all of the funds
in an account. This ability does not, however, trans-
late into ownership of the funds that are held in the
joint account. Rather, Wash. Rev. Code � 30.22.090
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Last modified: May 25, 2011