My cousin passed away on July 13. I am exector of her estate. She left another person on her check account to be Paid upon death. Is she entitled to her money.
Asked on 7/30/11, 4:36 am
1 Answer from Attorneys
The rules are that when two or more people have a joint checking account and one dies, the survivor gets the funds in the account.
Before you start making any distributions, however, you need to sit down with a probate attorney. If there is a will, bring it, as well as any information about joint checking accounts or other non-probate assets.
You should ask the attorney whether you need to probate an estate. If you do, find out if it is possible to use a simplified procedure.
You also need to find out who the possible heirs are as determined by the will or by the state intestacy laws.
Answered on 8/01/11, 11:41 am
