In re Estate of Busch

Summary

The Sixth District Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed the denial of HCF of Perrysburg’s objections to the inventory and appraisal of Kathleen Anelia Busch’s estate. The court held that funds remaining in a joint bank account passed to the surviving joint owner, Richard Miller, and were not estate assets, finding no demonstrated breach of fiduciary duty or basis for a constructive trust. The court also concluded that certain arguments were waived because they were not raised in the probate court.

Holdings

1. HCF waived its fiduciary-duty argument by failing to raise it in the trial court. In any event, the trial court acted within its discretion in finding no breach of Richard's fiduciary duties to Kathleen, because Richard owed no fiduciary duty to HCF and HCF was not an implied third-party beneficiary of the mother-son fiduciary relationship.
2. The balance remaining in Kathleen's joint and survivorship savings account transferred to Richard upon Kathleen's death and was not an asset of Kathleen's estate.
3. HCF was not entitled to a constructive trust over the joint savings account because it failed to establish any entitlement to the funds remaining after Kathleen's death.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the probate court abused its discretion by finding that Richard did not breach fiduciary duties as Kathleen's attorney-in-fact.
2. Whether the probate court erred in finding that Richard took no improper action for his own benefit during Kathleen's lifetime concerning the joint accounts.
3. Whether the remaining balance in the joint savings account was Richard's property rather than an estate asset.
4. Whether the appellate court should impose a constructive trust on the joint savings account for the benefit of estate creditors.

Disposition

affirmed