Penn v. Penn

Steele Hays, Justice.

This case turns on whether there was a sufficient designation in writing to comply with Ark. Stat. Ann. § 67-1838 (Repl. 1980), so that certificates of deposit belonged to the survivor, rather than to the estate of the decedent. The Chancellor found there was no right of survivorship. That finding was clearly erroneous and requires reversal.

The facts are not disputed. In 1979, Guthrie Penn, using $70,000 inherited from his mother, purchased two certificates of deposit from the First National Bank in Blytheville. When the CD’s matured, he left $10,000 at the bank in a…