Q: Hello, My mother who passed away 2 years ago and I opened a bank account in Montreal, Canada 8 years ago.
It is joint with rights of survivorship, we specifically wanted to have access to it regardless if one of us died. Now the bank has frozen the accounts after I innocently mentioned to them of her passing since i thought i was in my right. They are saying that there is no rights of survivorship in quebec law and want me to deal with their lawyer and have a will with court documents. They completely disregard my contract, why would they give me a contract and then turn around and not honor it. This is not what I agreed on when I opened the account. Also, we have always been u.s. citizens and residents, and my mother passed away in the states.
A: You will need to contact a Canadian lawyer but I would definitely not rely on information from a bank employee.
Terrence H Thorgaard agrees with this answer
A: It doesn't matter that you are a U.S. citizen; if it is a Canadian bank and the account was opened there, Canadian law, not the law of the U.S. applies. As Ms. Taylor has suggested, you should contact an attorney licensed to practice law in Montreal.
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