Matter of the Estate of Harry L. Rickert

BOEHM, Justice.

A holder of a power of attorney is a fiduciary and therefore any transaction in which the holder uses a power of attorney to transfer assets to the holder is presumed invalid. The Non-Probate Transfer Act creates a presumption that joint ownership of a bank account is intended to transfer the account to the survivor(s) at the death of an owner. We hold that the Act's presumption of intent to transfer does not overcome the fiduciary's duty to prove that the account was properly established as a joint account. The holder in this case used the power to establish joint accounts…