Money in a joint account - whose is it when someone dies?

Callistemon213

^GSM, calling GSM, come in GSM. please put us right^
Yes, where is GSM, aprilrose needs some advice?

The house would be worth more than the savings bond and is a very important consideration. Whose name is it in?

I’ve been a bit worried about GSM, I do hope she’s ok x

After going through this all recently outside of a solicitor I would recommend you just use one. Our relative didn't want to use a solicitor because 'it costs too much' and 'there isn't much anyway' but matters of the heart are a bit more complicated when dealing with a loved ones estate and belongings.

I'm sorry about your Mother but please insist to your brother it now goes through a solicitor now he has made it all more complicated

If your DH has had strokes you may need carers/help, if not now, at some point and will need funds for that.

Goodness, make a will now!

Never assume anything (sorry if that's pessimistic) and Battersea Cats and Dogs Home would be a grateful heir!
Hedgehog Rescue?

A real cruelty in all of this is that when I die , assuming I outlive my husband ( who is older than me anyway ) and my brother is younger, my brother, as next of kin would have had mums house and inherited my house and estate too including all the money that comes to me from mum . Now I may not be wealthy in many peoples terms but that would have set him up for the rest of his life.

Now, I am considering other options for anything may leave behind when shuttle off the mortal coil ( if it doesnt go on care home fees)..

I should add of course, he didnt tell me he wanted paying out for my savings bond until this weekend when he asked for £17.5K in addition to what he had.

He has actually had slightly more in money that I am left with sans the bond. He wanted to stay in the house and I was happy to agree that and just keep my name on it until he came for a share my £70K.

Maybe he should pay me rent on my half of the house ? I am sure he will want me to pay half the maintenance. HE DOES WORK. He has a good job as jobs go.

Overall, he has had more than I have from what was in the bank. The house is the major part of the estate.

Try phoning CAB in the first instance.

The goods were cleared as my brother didnt want mums stuff in the house and it went to auction at just over £100.
You should have done this together.

Don't let your brother walk all over you!

All the accounts were declared for letters of administration. The estate amounted to just over £400K. No tax payable. That was with what I felt was a generous valuation of the house frankly. The house is a woolaway and its the land that fetches the money. The house cannot be mortgaged. Mum left £110K in money in all her banks. The goods were cleared as my brother didnt want mums stuff in the house and it went to auction at just over £100. She wasnt wealthy. She used the interest on the bond held with me to supplement her pension.

No, we didnt use a solicitor. My brother didnt think it was worth the money as there wasnt much.

I didnt finish all off because my hubby became ill. Hence the house title is not settled.

and my brother made it clear he wanted half and half of everything - half the money.

Half and half of everything sounds like half the money and half the house. If that is what is decided then you will both have to sell it, divide the proceeds and he will have to find somewhere else.
Or have the house valued (always get three quotes) and he could buy you out of your half.
If the house is in your mother's name, of course.

Ask a solicitor to come to the house if you can't get out asap.

wellbeck - I havent finished transferring everything yet. I got the letters myself by filling in the online forms. I got a house valuation for that. The money was straightforward as it was in the bank accounts ( two of them - Barclays and Halifax.).

After I got the letters, I closed the accounts and gave my brother half of the money as he wanted - he was pushing. He wanted to have a holiday and buy a car ( well thats what he did).

The house is still in mums name. I had not gotten round to transferring the title. I was going to put it in my name and my brothers ..... but since this, I am thinking again. I was previously happy for my brother to have the house if I died and vice versa. Now I want any owing to come back to me or my estate on my death. If I cant have the money in life I am sure as hell going to see he doesnt get the lot when I die.

I dont think a will would have sorted this. My brother would have tried to rip that off too.

If someone dies without a will it is not up to the family to carve up the estate ,
You need a solicitor to sort everything , but you are quite right about the joint account

Sorry, posted before I read your update (I got interrupted by a minor crisis here!)

To the executor of the account of Mrs_______. He opened it. ( I am administrator but he opened the letter as he lives in mums house ) . Do you have Letters of Administration?

If there is no will, there is surely no Executor? If not, he had no right to open that letter if you are the only Administrator.

Sorry, I don't know enough about this but know you need good legal advice urgently.

does he live there alone, if it's still in your mum's name, won't the council think it is fraud if he is claiming single occupancy . . .
all sorts of complications.
unless this happened v recently.
the fee for winding up the estate, ie solicitor's fees, should come out of the assets of the estate.
don't suppose you'll get that portion back from (D)B.

Callestemon. My brother lives in the house alone now ( with mums cat - which we both promised would have a home until she passed away) . His son lives with his mother ( brothers ex - well one of them). The boy is now 18. I dont think my brother ever thought his son should be entitled to a third. he just thought he could swing it for some money for him - and another way of getting most of the money for himself maybe? How do I know. I had no idea he would do this to me.

I always realised I would probably end up with less than my brother via the house going to him and the cash to me as mum verbally said. But now I have a house I cant do anything with without making my brother homeless and my brother made it clear he wanted half and half of everything - half the money.

I always understood that joint accounts and such automatically went to the surviving named account holder in the case of death. So, had mums account been between her and some unknown to me , the unknown of would have the money in that bond. The bank said the same when I transferred it and they said that when we opened the account.

Of course, if I found I did owe him the money I would pay it.

what about inheritance tax ?
i think you should engage a solicitor asap and get everything done properly, watertight.
good luck.

Allsorts - my brother found out about the account because when I closed kit and transferred the money, a statement was sent to mums house addressed " To the executor of the account of Mrs_______. He opened it . ( I am administrator but he opened the letter as he lives in mums house) .

Mum nor I ever told him about that account as it was mine and hers. He has had his half of the cash in her bank accounts. As administrator I paid him out first.

But I havent changed the title deed on the house yet ( still in mums name) nor finalised the account I have for my own inheritance.

GSM, calling GSM, come in GSM. please put us right
Yes, where is GSM, aprilrose needs some advice?

The house would be worth more than the savings bond and is a very important consideration. Whose name is it in?

how is the house owned, i mean what kind of transfer of title was done, do you and your brother both, together, own it in its entirety, or do you own 50% each, in which case you could force a sale, i believe.
did you not use a solicitor to apply for letters of administration, tax declarations and probate.
as i understand it, each party to a joint account owns all the money in it, and can legally take/use it at any time, so if one dies, the account/money now belongs to the remaining party.
but i think you still have to declare it for tax purposes.

GSM, calling GSM, come in GSM. please put us right.

Your mum should really have made a will. She should not have been forced by anyone as to the contents, it should be a private matter.
I'm afraid she did you no favours by keeping her name on the account and I think just giving you the money.
Lessons to be learned here.
It is a lot of money and hope it gets sorted for you.
A lot of family break-ups and discord occurs as a result of inherited money.

First and foremost you need a solicitor. Get all the papers you will need regarding accounts etc.

When my husband died, our solicitor came to our house for the changing of the will, Power of Attorney and lasting power of attorney. They may charge but it is well worth the hassle of going to their offices.

Why would your brother think his son should be entitled to a third?

Do he and his son live in the house? Whose name(s) is/are on the deeds?

Yes, you need good legal advice. Can you ask a local Befriending service, perhaps at your local church, if someone can come and sit with your husband while you see a solicitor?

To speculate unhelpfully myself, I think your brother may have a point. If the joint account was with your mother, it seems fair that half of your mother’s share should now be his?

Can you not just ring a solicitor and get proper legal advice via a phone or video call? I’d guess there are only a very few GNers qualified to give it and the rest of us will just be unhelpfully speculating.