Question over Will and Joint Account

A

Andre

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My father recently died and had made a will in the 80's leaving the family home to my sole sibling, my brother, and the remainder of his estate (his savings) to me. My brother was executor of the will. My brother tells me now that my father instructed him in the last few years that he wanted his residual estate (savings) to go to my brother's grandchildren instead of to me. My brother asked my father to make a new will as he was not happy with a verbal arrangement but refused to and opened a joint bank account with my brother instead, which my father thought was less trouble than making a new will.

My brother now tells me that the contents of the joint bank account, which represents the residue of my father's estate, legally pass to my brother and he can distribute this to his children, despite the existence of the will mentioned above. Is my brother's interpretation correct?
 
The best answer you can get without more information is "Not necessarily".

You'd be best advsed to get legal advice on this asap. I'd also be slow to enter into more discussion on this on an open website that anyone (i.e. your brother) could see.
 
What other information would be needed to allow a more definitive answer?

In relation to your concern about discussion on an open forum, I take your point. I have edited the original post to remove some of the detail. My posting name is just that, not my real name.
 
The problem is that you are most likely not going to be able to access the relevant information.

You'd need to find what instructions were given to the Bank when your brother was added to the account. For instance, can you be sure that the bank was told that the funds were to go to your brother on your father's death, or could your brother be bluffing you on this? Sometimes someone can be added as a signatory to an account, or as a joint account holder, but not assume ownership of the funds on death.

Your brother is legally bound as Executor to distribute the estate as directed by the Will. You should have a lawyer contact his lawyer to ensure that this is being done correctly. Put your concerns to your lawyer.

The best of luck and my condolences at this difficult time.
 
The area of joint accounts is a bit of a minefield but there is quite a bit of precedent in the area. Relevant factors include the source of the funds, the control over the account and the intention of the person funding the account. Legal advice ASAP....
 
Thanks for the replies. My brother and I have a good relationship and I don't believe that he is inventing the wishes of my late father and trying to pull a fast one on me. I guess I'll need legal advice to determine if my father's original will has any standing, but I may not go down that path. I just got the details from my brother today and this posting may just be a reaction to the hurt I feel. No need for further replies.
 
Andre,

My understanding (and I am open to correction) - it that in a joint account situation, the remaining balance automatically becomes the 'property' of the surviving account holder and doesn't form part of the deceased's estate.

Now, sometimes people refer to a 'joint account' when they don't actually have a joint account, but what they have is 'signing authority' on the account holder's account - when both parties are alive there is no real practical difference between the two - however when the account holder passes away in this second scenario, the authority to sign on the account dies with the deceased (sorry, as I type this it sounds cold, I don't mean it to be, when I'm concious you've lost your Dad). It may be worth establishing which of the above scenarios was in place.

I would also be interested if you do seek legal advice, to find out if my interpretation is correct.

Hope it all works out.

Regards,

BM
 
BM - your interpretation used to be the accepted practice in the past - but not anymore. Nowadays it is a question of fact in all the circs of the case - so its not a question of whether its a joint account or a "signing authority" case. So if for example the account is in joint names because the elder person can't manage their own affairs and the son/daughter needs to help manage bills etc then the presumption would be that the account belongs to the estate. But if the account is say a husband/wife joint account that was always operated equally then the presumption would be that it is a joint account to which "survivorship" would apply. The Revenue and probate office have begun to inquire into the details to assist in determining matters on death - its no longer an assumption of survivorship. I've encountered lots of problems for clients in practice. Can also anticipate that I'll run into problems with me own siblings when the time comes!!
 
Again, thanks to all who contributed. The account is a joint account, as opposed to signing authority, and was set up specifically to circumvent the need to amend the will so that when my Dad died my brother would have access to his savings, which he would then distribute according to my Dad's wishes. As my Dad's wishes for his estate changed from the time he made the will I feel must respect them and don't see pursuing a legal avenue bringing any consolation.
 
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