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How is Your Account Titled in the Orlando, Florida Area?

How your account is titled in your Orlando, Florida case can have significant ramifications on how it will be disposed of and disbursed at your death. Is the bank account an account of convenience? Or is the account a multiparty account with right of survivorship? Be careful how your bank accounts are titled. How the bank account is titled will determine how it is disbursed at your death. 

How the account is titled is important because a convenience account is included in estate assets. Whereas, a multiparty account with right of survivorship passes outside the estate directly to the joint tenant. However, it is important to know that a presumption created by the Decedent’s choice to designate the bank account as a multiple party account with right of survivorship on signature card despite having the choice to designate it as a convenience account is rebuttable and can be overcome by clear and convincing evidence. 

Florida Statute 655.79 Deposits and accounts in two or more names; presumption as to vesting is the Florida Statute that deals with this situation. The Statute discusses that (1) unless otherwise expressly provided in a contract, agreement, or signature card executed in connection with opening or maintenance of an account….a deposit account in the name of two more persons shall be presumed to have been intended by such persons to provide that, upon the death of any one of them, all rights, title, interest, and claim in, to, and in respect of such deposit account…vest in the surviving person or persons. (2) The presumption created in this section may be overcome only by proof of fraud or undue influence or clear and convincing proof of a contrary intent. In the absence of such proof, all rights, title, interest, and claims in, to, and in respect of such deposits and accounts…upon the death of any such person, vest in the surviving person or persons. 

The probate court’s inquiry is not limited to the four corners of the signature card; rather, its inquiry is whether the personal representative established, by clear and convincing evidence, that, notwithstanding the signature card, the Decedent’s intent was to create a convenience account. 

The court will look at whether the person added to the account only to help the owner pay bills and manage finances. The court can use parole evidence to determine the decedent’s intent if there is a question of Decedent’s intent because the Decedent’s intent is not clear from the facts and circumstances. The court will listen to what the Decedent told other people regarding his/her intent. 

If you have more questions regarding a Probate Administration matter, you may call Ann Marie Giordano Gilden at Ann Marie Giordano Gilden, P.A. at 407-732-7620 and set an initial consultation. 

This article is for informational purposes only and does not form an attorney client privilege.