Howard v. Burton

I respectfully dissent. It is my opinion that the majority misconstrues § 5-1-25, Code 1975. At first blush the operative language of the section might seem to dictate the result reached by the majority. A closer inspection of the statute, however, yields a different result.

Section 5-1-25 provides that when bank deposits are made in "the names of two persons payable to either of such persons, or payable to the survivor of them, the deposit shall, upon the death of either of said persons, become the property of . . . the survivor." The majority construes the statute to mean that where money on…