Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey

Re: joint accounts

By law, the joint account will pass to you as the surviving owner. However, it sounds like your mother's clear intent is to distribute all her assets, including this joint account, to her three children in equal shares. If your siblings can prove that intent, the account will be divided equally.

These 'convienience' bank accounts often cause problems when estate assets are divided. My advice would be to share the balance of the account with your siblings and avoid the fight which will inevitably come.

Re: joint accounts

I totally agree with Jon. Unless it was your mother's intent for you to get any balance on her death, and, if it is, she should inform your siblings of this, in writing, you have an exposure of litigation by your siblings. By law, joint accounts go to the survivor when one registrant passes away. "Convenience" accounts (those registered in multiple names solely for convenience in check writing), as Jon states, create the most problems in estate settlements. Best was to have given you a limited Power of Attorney to sign her checks, so there would be no confusion about her intent as to what should happen with this account when she passes away, if this was to be split. This still can be corrected while she is alive