Slayer statute applicable to joint trust

Evans v. Evans, 4th Dist. Case Nos. 12CA5, 12CA6, 2014-Ohio-4450. After a husband was found guilty of murder and conspiracy as to his wife’s death, the co-trustee of the couples’ trust filed a complaint for declaratory judgment as to the trust’s interpretation and administration. The trial court determined that the trust was similar to a joint and survivor bank account in that the trust’s terms provided that either trustee had the authority to withdraw portions that the owner had contributed. As such, the trial court held that the slayer statute applied and, therefore, the husband was considered to have predeceased the wife pursuant to the trust’s terms. On appeal, the appellants argued that the slayer statute operated so as to deny the husband of his vested property rights, and that the slayer statute is not designed to strip a convicted person of property rights that vested prior to the decedent’s death. The appellate court, however, held that the husband murdering his wife had denied her opportunity to enjoy her beneficial interests. As such, the trial court's ruling was upheld.