Q: Dad and I had a joint checking account. He passed away recently. Is that account property of the estate?
A: No, not if you were "joint tenants with right of survivorship" on the account. You can ask the bank, and they should tell you. If you're not, then the account probably belongs to the Estate.
A:
It depends.
A joint bank account with no rights of survivorship is an estate asset. Some type of probate proceeding will need to be done in order to get access to those funds.
If the bank account has a joint owner with rights of survivorship then the account will not be an estate asset, and instead will pass straight to the joint owner upon showing the bank a death certificate.
You will have to check with the bank to see how the account was opened and how it is titled.
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