Q: My mother and I had Joint bank accounts. And in the will it states for her estate to be devided 50/50
My sister was named executor over the will. I was wondering if the joint bank accounts my mother and I had Together would have to go through the probate or would be considered part of the will.
My mother always helped her sister out with finances and my sister is trying to take out that account as well even though it was a joint account between my mother and I.
A: If the account was "Joint with Rights of Survivorship" as most "joint" accounts are, the account goes directly to you. It does not go through probate and therefore is not controlled by the Will. All you need to do is take an original death certificate and a photo ID to a bank branch and they will convert the account into your name. The only caveat is that if your mother was on Medicaid (not Medicare), it is possible the state could come after the account if there are not enough other assets to reimburse the Medicaid payments.
Mary Ellen Leslie agrees with this answer
A: A joint account is not considered to be an estate asset. The balance in the account would be payable to the joint holder.
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