Eredics v. Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A.

Summary

The New York Court of Appeals held that a named beneficiary may waive rights to a Totten trust if the waiver is explicit, voluntary, and made in good faith. The separation agreement at issue did not explicitly waive the plaintiff's beneficiary interest in the accounts, and the decedent had not revoked the trusts through withdrawal, a will, or a qualifying writing filed with the banks. The court therefore affirmed judgment in favor of the plaintiff.

Holdings

1. The separation agreement did not revoke the Totten trusts because the depositor did not withdraw the funds, expressly revoke the accounts in his will, or execute and file a qualifying writing with the financial institution.
2. A named beneficiary may waive the right to a Totten trust account, provided that the waiver is explicit, voluntary, and made in good faith.
3. The separation agreement did not waive Eredics's rights as beneficiary because it contained no explicit waiver of the Totten trust interests, and the court would not infer such a waiver from broad general language concerning the parties' property or their estates.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the separation agreement revoked the Totten trusts under EPTL 7-5.2.
2. Whether a named beneficiary may waive the right to receive funds from a Totten trust notwithstanding the statutory methods for revocation by the depositor.
3. Whether the separation agreement explicitly, voluntarily, and in good faith waived Eredics's beneficial interests in the Totten trust accounts.

Disposition

affirmed