In this dispute over the division of the decedent’s financial accounts, the probate court properly placed a restriction on the funds that the respondent had received as a designated beneficiary on certain accounts, the Michigan Court of Appeals has ruled.

The COA held that a co-owner of the account who unlawfully transferred nearly all the funds to her personal account must return one-half of the funds that were taken.

The plaintiff argued the alter-ego rule to make the defendant Nancy Benner, spouse, responsible for her ex/disbarred attorneys’ failure to pay the agreed upon referral fee.