Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in North Carolina
Joint with rights of survivorship
My grandmother recently passed away. She had her accounts (bank, investments, cd's) listed as JWROS with my mother. I know these will pass directly to her, bypassing probate. My question is, are these a gift (100%) on date of death. When she added her name to the accounts years ago, should she have gifted 50% of the value of the accounts then, and the remaining 50% is a gift after death? My mother didn't have any contributions to the account, never took any money out of the accounts either. Are 100% of these accounts listed on the estate tax form? She will be under the limit for estate tax, but it looks like she may be over the 1 million lifetime gift tax, assuming these JWROS accounts received after death are accounted for on the gift tax return. THanks for any help.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Joint with rights of survivorship
These would appear to be matters sufficiently complicated that they should merit at the very least a consultation with an attorney who is knowledgeable and experienced in estate and gift tax as well as probate matters.
The applicable laws on these issues have undoubtedly changed over the years and it's quite likely that the law(s) which may have applied when these JWROS accounts were first established may have changed significantly by the time your grandmother passed on---all of which could affect your mother's current situation as a surviving beneficiary on these accounts.
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