Matter of Totten

Fanny Lattan opened various accounts during her lifetime at Irving Savings Institution, some in her name alone and some in her name as trustee for a third party. Regarding the in-trust accounts, Fanny deposited her own funds, withdrew funds and closed accounts as desired, and retained the accounts’ passbooks, which were books for tracking account transactions. Fanny therefore maintained full control over the accounts, with the beneficiaries having no account access. At her death, Fanny had several open in-trust accounts. The administrator of her estate, William Totten (defendant), delivered the respective passbooks to the named account beneficiaries, allowing each beneficiary to withdraw the relevant funds. Some in-trust accounts had been closed by Fanny during her lifetime by her withdrawal of all funds from the accounts. Two such accounts had been opened by Fanny as trustee for her nephew, Emile Lattan (plaintiff). Emile made a claim against Fanny’s estate for the funds previously deposited in the two accounts. He claimed that the accounts constituted irrevocable trusts in his favor and that Fanny improperly undermined his interests by defunding the accounts. When Totten refused to pay the claims, Emile asked the probate court to compel payment. The court held in Totten’s favor, finding that he rightfully rejected Emile’s claims. The appellate division reversed, and Totten appealed.