Things Clients Should Know - Joint Bank Accounts
At Sottile & Hopkins we have seen many cases where the method of titling ownership of a joint bank account has led to unintended and often unfair results. Generally, under South Carolina law ownership of a joint bank account with rights of survivorship (the acronym is JTWROS) automatically passes to the survivor(s) named on the account. For example, if a parent adds a child's name to a $100,000 certificate of deposit at the bank in this manner so that the child can access the cash in the event of an emergency or the death of the parent and not have to "worry about probate", that child can claim ownership of the entire $100,000 when the parent dies, leaving the other children out in the cold! We would be happy to discuss alternatives with you that would avoid this outcome.
- 1 year ago
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