Crosby v. Luehrs

NATURE OF CASE

Kenneth C. Olson’s nephew, Bruce Luehrs, acting as Olson’s attorney in fact pursuant to a durable power of attorney, transferred nearly $40,000 out of Olson’s bank accounts into a new account that Luehrs opened in Olson’s name. The previous accounts had named Mike Crosby (Crosby), Olson’s friend and former neighbor, as a payable-on-death (POD) beneficiary, but the new account did not. Olson died, and by virtue of the transfers, the money that had been in the POD accounts passed through Olson’s estate instead of being paid to Crosby. Luehrs, as a named beneficiary of Olson’s…