Estate of Aiello

In Estate of Aiello (1980) 106 Cal.App.3d 669, the court found a significant sum, which had been deposited in a joint tenancy savings account, was held by the defendant in a constructive trust for the beneficiaries of the cotenant's will and ordered the defendant to transfer the money to the estate. The court imposed the constructive trust based in part on letters that were probative of the deceased cotenant's intent that the heirs named in her will should receive the proceeds of the account and that the defendant was no more than an administrator. The trial court noted of the letters, written after the deceased converted her savings account into a joint tenancy account: "'It is quite evident to the Court from reading the letters that at all times the object of her bounty were to be those who were mentioned in her Will.'" (Id. at p. 675.) The appellate court found sufficient evidence to support a constructive trust: "The letters clearly indicate that her intent was that the heirs named in the will should receive the bulk of her estate -- the account -- and that the defendant was to be no more than an administrator who would get 'his cut' as decedent put it in her first letter." (Id. at p. 676.)