Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Re: joint bank account

The joint account generally results in the money being inherited directly by the son. However, the creation of the joint account and the deposit of the funds could be challenged in probate.

If the elderly women has not died, she should place the funds in a different account or make the existing account her account and

If the mother has passed away, the brother could enter into a settlement agreement with the sisters to avoid litigation and distribute them an appropriate share. There would be no inehritance tax at amounts of less than $1 Million nor should a gift tax involved for the brother if a settlement agreement is used to document the transfer of funds.

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: joint bank account

Unless you can get the court to create or structure a constructive trust, the son I believe gets it all, with no obligation to share; except a moral one.

Re: joint bank account

There might have had been or will be certain income or capital gains tax consequences from the sale of her home.

However, when she deposited those funds into the account held jointly with her son, the son will automatically get that money upon her death because joint assets pass out of probate (ie: not through a will).

The bank account is not part of the assets dictated by the will and therefore is not subject to division. There might however be issues with the other siblings if they find out about the money and even though it's legally the son's, it could cause problems within the family.

Lastly, estate taxes are only levied if she had an estate that totaled over $1M (for MA state estate tax) and currently this year $2M for federal estate tax purposes.

Re: joint bank account

As between the bank and any intestate beneficiary, the bank can honor the terms of the contract between the woman, son, and bank. That does not preclude the other children from claiming that the proceeds should be part of the estate.

It would be better, for several reasons, to properly title the assets in the woman's name or in the name of the trustee of her revocable trust.

Assuming that her assets don't exceed $1,000,000, the estate would not be taxed, but there might be a question of a taxable gift by the son if he transfers a third of the proceeds to his siblings. Also, the funds are potentially subject to the claims of his creditors. In theory, there could be Medicaid issues as well were the transfer to be treated as a completed gift.

It would be better if the assets were properly titled in the name of the woman or her trust. In the meantime, he should acknowledge in writing that he holds the funds for convenience of his mother only, and not as an outright gift.