If I was on a joint checking account with my mother when she passed, is my brother now entitled to any of it?
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If I was on a joint checking account with my mother when she passed, is my brother now entitled to any of it?
The estate attorney said legally that money was mine. Now that the estate has settled, my brother is saying that everything that was hers should have been split evenly at the moment she passed. I used that money for some of her final bills and, with her prior permission, for some personal things as I was her caregiver. We had a third party executor to handle the estate and she is now saying that I “stole” the money, even though I went with her and closed the account and she took the remaining $2000 dollars. Am I liable for this money and to pay half of it to my brother?
Asked on October 30, 2015 under Estate Planning, Ohio
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 9 years ago | Contributor
No, you are not liable. With a joint checking account, on the death of one account holder, the contents of the account become the sole property of the other account holder. They do not become the property of the estate and are not subject to distribution because they were already your property, as joint account holder.
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