O'Connor

*161 In the last years of her mother's life, daughter Kelli Anne Parille visited on a near daily basis, scheduling her mother's caregiving and hospital transportation. She also assisted with various business affairs, including opening a joint bank account with her mother. The issue on appeal is one courts have long grappled with-when an elderly person with a joint bank account dies, do the funds belong to the decedent's estate or do they belong to the additional signer as a co-owner of the account? Under California law, "[s]ums remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account belong to the surviving party ... as against the estate of the decedent unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent." The trial court held that because there was no clear and conclusive evidence of a contrary intent, the accounts passed as a matter of law to Kelli upon her mother's death. Because the trial court's finding is supported by substantial evidence, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

On June 27, 1990, William and Betty Lou O'Connor created the O'Connor Family Trust (OFT). The OFT was amended in 1992. William and Betty had three children-Thomas Williams (Tom), Kelli Anne…