Concurrent Ownership. In July 2003, Chester Dellinger and his son Michael opened a joint bank account with Advancial Federal Credit Union in Dallas, Texas. Both of them signed the “Account Application,” which designated Chester as a

“member” and Michael as a “joint owner.” Both of them received a copy of the “Account Agreement, Disclosures and Privacy Policy,” which provided that “a multiple party account includes rights of survivorship.” Chester died in February 2005. His will designated Michael as the executor of the estate, most of which was to be divided equally between Michael and his brother, Joseph, Chester’s other son. Michael determined the value of the estate to be about $117,000. He did not include the Advancial account balance, which was about $234,000.

Joseph fi led a suit in a Texas state court against Michael, contending that the funds in the Advancial account should be included in the estate. Michael fi led a motion for summary judgment. Who owned the Advancial account when Chester was alive? Who owned it after he died? What should the court rule? Explain. [In re Estate of Dellinger, 224 S.W.3d 434 (Tex.

App.—Dallas 2007)]