Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Massachusetts

Christina,

This is a complex question, which has at its heart the relationship between your sister and the signer on her business checking account. It's hard to see what her personal accounts might have had to do with her business. If you would like to contact me, either for help, or for a referral, I would be happy discuss this issue with you further.

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Thanks for your question. The issue, as I see it, is whether the "co-signer" is also a named account holder, so that the account is actually a joint account. The question of whether funds in a joint account go to the surviving account holder or the estate is fact-intensive and depends on the following factors: (a) who contributed the money to the account; (b) who was on the account first; (c) to whom was interest on the account reported by the IRS; and (d) the extent to which the surviving account holder wrote checks for her personal benefit while the decedent was living. If this was not a joint account but the person had only signing authority, then that becomes more of an issue of theft of funds. Check out my blog about these issues on my web site at www.lawfang.com for more information.