Legal Question
- Thread starter hambone
- Start date
I've had recent discussion with my lawyer with respect to similar question when it comes to Joint ownership.
BAsically, if property or bank accounts are held jointly , they belong to each other, so upon death, the survivor has full ownership, however, it can be disputed that the joint ownership was not really meant to be joint ownership, for example, Mom has her bank account, and she puts son Billy on the account and makes it Joint .... Mom then passes away and brother number 2 comes along (Pete) and argues that the reason for the joint account was not to give ownership to Billy, but Mom made him joint to make it easier for billy to pay her bills. The argument then becomes "what was the real intent that Mom put Billy's name on the account", or house or whatever that is joint. It no doubt can become a huge legal battle .
For this reason, it is wise to keep very detailed notes , even as far as visiting a lawyer while makeing the changes so th3ey can keep detailed notes.
Without getting into too many personal details, In my case, We visited my lawyer, he kept very detailed notes on the discussions that were happening with the family members involved and present, so if anything ever becomes contested, he would have his notes to fall back on, and therefor the reason for making the changes that were made .
BAsically, if property or bank accounts are held jointly , they belong to each other, so upon death, the survivor has full ownership, however, it can be disputed that the joint ownership was not really meant to be joint ownership, for example, Mom has her bank account, and she puts son Billy on the account and makes it Joint .... Mom then passes away and brother number 2 comes along (Pete) and argues that the reason for the joint account was not to give ownership to Billy, but Mom made him joint to make it easier for billy to pay her bills. The argument then becomes "what was the real intent that Mom put Billy's name on the account", or house or whatever that is joint. It no doubt can become a huge legal battle .
For this reason, it is wise to keep very detailed notes , even as far as visiting a lawyer while makeing the changes so th3ey can keep detailed notes.
Without getting into too many personal details, In my case, We visited my lawyer, he kept very detailed notes on the discussions that were happening with the family members involved and present, so if anything ever becomes contested, he would have his notes to fall back on, and therefor the reason for making the changes that were made .
More on the topic here
taken from http://ontariorealestatesource.blogspot.com/2009/01/joint-tenancy-declarations.htmlThe two cases were similar in nature. An elderly father opened a joint account with his daughter. Upon his death, the daughter claimed that she inherited the proceeds of the bank account by right of survivorship. The other siblings claimed that this was not the case, and argued that just because the legal documents said “joint ownership” did not mean that the father intended to give the money to the surviving joint tenant. This was purely a procedural step to assist in the administration of the account throughout the father’s lifetime and with his estate, after his death. This was an interesting and novel argument.
No. For this reason, many people make sure that as many of their accounts as possible are joint with their next of kin. Those that don't are making a mistake (or have family issues). The other benefit is that joint holdings are excluded from probate and the associated taxes.If a person dies without a will, will their joint bank accounts be frozen?
Short story is that if the person hasn't died yet then it's really probably a good time to go get a will made. Even if it's a really simple will that says "I leave everything I have to hambone", at least then it'll be clear.
With a clear will in place to eliminate the problems of someone contesting "what was the intent of joint" you can bypass a lot of red tape and get direct access to the underlying assets by making all the accounts joint but you still want a solid bullet proof will to fall back on in case anyone argues it.
With a clear will in place to eliminate the problems of someone contesting "what was the intent of joint" you can bypass a lot of red tape and get direct access to the underlying assets by making all the accounts joint but you still want a solid bullet proof will to fall back on in case anyone argues it.
Well put.Short story is that if the person hasn't died yet then it's really probably a good time to go get a will made. Even if it's a really simple will that says "I leave everything I have to hambone", at least then it'll be clear.
With a clear will in place to eliminate the problems of someone contesting "what was the intent of joint" you can bypass a lot of red tape and get direct access to the underlying assets by making all the accounts joint but you still want a solid bullet proof will to fall back on in case anyone argues it.
A competently drafted will can save a lot of aggravation even if the intestacy provisions would eventually have come to the same result.
