JOINT BANK ACCOUNT

[ilovesprouts]

hi my dds nannas partner has just passed away ,the have a small sum of money in a shared bank account,what happends now ie money wise has her partners fam are arguing over the money

It's a legal matter. Sounds like there are no wills in place? This is exactly the kind of reason why they're a good idea. If they had been married, your DD's grandmother would be automatically next of kin. If they weren't married but your DD's grandmother was named as beneficiary in a will, there would be no problem. But as you say 'partner' i.e not married, then there may well be another person who is their legal next of kin and who therefore has a legitimate claim. BTW This claim would also apply if he had any property or other assets.

The bank will probably freeze the account until the matter is resolved. Suggest anyone directly involved seeks legal advice.

direct.gov says:
^"Money in joint accounts
The deceased person may have held money with another person in a joint bank or building society account. Normally this means that the surviving joint owner automatically owns the money. The money does not form part of the deceased person's estate for the purpose of administration and therefore does not need to be dealt with by the executor or administrator. However, a deceased's person's share in joint property is treated as part of their estate for inheritance tax purposes, both on death and on gifts made during their lifetime."^

Stand corrected :) Thanks for the info.

Legal advice is a good idea though. It does say "normally".
And I guess 'normally' families wouldn't even think to claim money from a joint account the deceased person shares with a partner.

Yes, joint bank accounts nearly always fall to the surviving person. My parents each have a "joint" bank account which is joint in name only. It means that if anything happened to one of them the other would have instant access to the funds for bills, funeral expenses etc.

PL is right. It comes up all the time. Money in a joint account goes straight to the other person. Same as a house in joint names. Now you can change that - she might have had an agreement that if she died money int hat account went to other relatives but it's very unlikely. Probably 100% of that goes to the partner and you don't even need to freeze it and the rest of the estate is then divided up.