Legal Question in Family Law in New York

Does the Equitable Distribution Law supersede Banking Law 675? Banking Law 675 says if funds deposited into joint account then both parties have a presumptive 50/50 interest if presumption not rebutted, but Equitable Distribution Law states that Equitable Distribution is not necessarily 50/50.


Asked on 9/19/12, 9:51 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Philip Katz Fink & Katz, PLLC

Neither of these two loans supersede the other. The banking law dictates what assumptions the bank will make with respect to an account when releasing funds, and creates PRESUMPTIONS regarding ownership of accounts where more than 1 party is titled to an account. If those two parties are married and the money in the account was deposited during the marriage, a matrimonial judge would have to consider the possibility that the money in that account is marital and thus subject to equitable distribution. In other words, title does not define ownership under the banking law, it creates a REBUTTABLE PRESUMPTION, that is generally easily rebutted by a spouse when the account has funds deposited by one or the other spouse during the marriage (with some exceptions where the funds are clearly separate property because of their source). This question is far too complicated for a yes or no response, as you can see.

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Answered on 9/20/12, 11:26 am


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