Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New Jersey
my mother and her brother had a joint savings account. the account was set up as "emily or edward" on the account. it was also under my mother's social security number.
edward dies. the bank officer knows edward died and would only give my mother 1/2 of the funds in the account. he said she would have to file paperwork with the state to get a release form. i asked another bank why , if the account was set up as "or", my mother was being denied the full amount. the bank manager at bank of america said the money should have been given to her in full. my mother filled out forms for the state (nj) and has gotten a response asking for all kinds of more info.
edward's wife knows this money was all my mothers. edward just helped her invest it.
advise please
harold lachnicht
1 Answer from Attorneys
The manager at Bank of America is 100% wrong [which is not unusual, most banks these days don't know the rules].
Under NJ law, the surviving joint owner may only take out one-half of the account value without estate tax waivers. The fact it was really your mother's account makes no difference. The presumption [for obvious reasons] is that the accout was owned 100% by the decedent. An estate tax return must be filed, and your mother will have to sign an affidavit setting forth facts to prove all the consideration for the money in the account came from her and not from her brother.
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