Gloria Swank v. Geraldine W. Covington

INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

WILSON, J.,

for the Court:

¶ 1. In January 2010, Elva Mae -Hemp-hill passed away at the age of ninety-nine without a will. Her primary assets consisted of five certificates of deposit (“CDs”) and a checking account. She had invested in CDs for years and intended to use joint ownership of CDs as an estate planning tool. As of April 6, 2007, she had named three of her sisters as joint owners of her various CDs and savings account. . On that day, because her health had begun to decline, Elva Mae signed a power of attorney (“POA”) appointing Geraldine Covington and Larry…