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Heather E. Lowry, As Administrator For The Estate Of William B. Lowryv.Roberta K. Fenzel F/K/A Robert K. Lowry

CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
Docket No.A14A2265
DecidedFebruary 24, 2015
Reporter331 Ga. App. 603; 769 S.E.2d 522
JudgesCourt of Appeals of Georgia, First Division; Chief Judge Phipps, Presiding Judge Ellington, and Judge McMillian; Judge McMillian authored the opinion
Tags
CivilProperty LawFamily LawContract InterpretationSummary JudgmentEvidenceReversal
Case Summary

After William Lowry died intestate, his estate sought funds in accounts where his former wife, Roberta Fenzel, was either a beneficiary or joint owner. Their divorce settlement provided that each would retain accounts in that person’s name and that the other would make no claim, but it did not address jointly held accounts. The trial court granted summary judgment to Fenzel. The Court of Appeals held that the settlement waived Fenzel’s expectancy interest in the Ameriprise account and three certificates of deposit held solely in Lowry’s name, so Fenzel was not entitled to summary judgment on those assets. The agreement did not dispose of accounts jointly held by the former spouses, and Georgia’s account statutes transferred those funds to Fenzel as surviving joint owner; summary judgment on those accounts was proper. The court treated the estate’s challenge to an affidavit as abandoned because the estate did not support the issue with argument or authority, and the record showed no trial-court ruling on its motion to strike. The judgment was affirmed in part and reversed in part.

Opinion

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