- 20 - of ownership by decedent to the deposited funds in that joint account. See RCWA 30.22.130. Unless decedent granted Mr. Christensen and Ms. Hastie the authority to make gifts on her behalf of the funds withdrawn from the Seafirst joint account by the November 1995 checks and the January 1996 checks, both Mr. Christensen and Ms. Hastie had an obligation to account to decedent for the funds withdrawn by the respective checks that they signed, and decedent could have sued both of them to recover those funds. See RCWA 30.22.130; see also Kalk v. Security Pac. Bank Wash. N.A., 866 P.2d at 1279. On the record before us, we find that the estate has failed to show that decedent authorized either Mr. Christensen or Ms. Hastie to make gifts on her behalf of the funds in the Seafirst joint account that were withdrawn by the November 1995 checks and the January 1996 checks. Indeed, the estate does not even suggest that any such authority existed outside the purported authority that it claims was granted to them as joint account holders of the Seafirst joint account by certain sections of the Act. In this connection, the estate expressly disavows relying on the power of attorney that decedent signed on August 15, 1984, in order to establish that decedent authorized Mr. Christensen and Ms. Hastie to make gifts on her behalf. We conclude that the estate acknowledges that that power of attorney did not authorize Mr. Christensen and Ms. Hastie to make gifts on behalf of dece-Page: Previous 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Next
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