Law Commons^™

Survivorship Rights In Joint Bank Accounts: A Misbegotten Presumption Of Intent, Gregory Eddington

Marquette Elder's Advisor

The Article addresses the frequently litigated issue of the ownership of joint bank accounts that elderly people may have opened to protect against incapacity or to avoid FDIC insurance limits on single accounts. Despite the strong possibility of these non-donative motives, most states—by statute or court decision—award the accounts to the surviving co-tenants instead of the depositors’ heirs or will beneficiaries. This occurs even when the account contract did not contain language of survivorship and even when there is no evidence that the depositor was offered a contract that would have allowed him or her to choose an agency arrangement. …