My father died and my sister emptied the $100,000 in his bank account
Published: Dec 4, 2016 9:11 p.m. ET
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Two sisters fall out over their father’s estate
By
QUENTIN
FOTTRELL
PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR
Dear Moneyologist,
During Christmas 2012, my father told my sister and me that he had made
my sister a signatory on his bank account so she could pay bills from
his bank account when he died. He looked at us and said, “The rest gets
split between you two.” He died suddenly five months later (my mother predeceased him two years earlier). Despite what he told us, my father
did not have a will. After nearly four months in probate I learned that
Dad had accidentally made my sister an owner of his bank account, not
just a signatory. The law firm we hired says this happens often and is
usually corrected in the will or by the heir receiving the extra money.
That never happened. My sister refused and kept the $100,000 that was in
the bank account — and got reimbursed for the bills out of the other
assets of the estate. I have cut off ties with my sister, which was not
that hard, since we were never close. She lives in Boston, where we’re
from, and I live in Virginia, but I pass on family events because I
don’t want to bring our drama to someone else’s special day. As a
result, I have been accused of forgetting my family, even though I send birthday and Christmas cards, and no one thinks to call me for my
birthday. My sister said that when I say Dad made a mistake, I’m really saying he was stupid.
What can or should I do?
S. in Virginia
Dear S.,
I’m sorry to hear that you lost your parents, especially under such
difficult circumstances. Losing a parent is hard enough without having
to navigate the emotional and legal quagmire of trying to honor your
father’s wishes, especially when he has left no will to support those
wishes. Family arguments resulting from estates of parents do not, alas,
appear to be uncommon. And the singer-songwriter Prince died earlier
this year without leaving a will, according to court documents filed by
his sister. Although this may be small consolation to you now: You’re
not alone.
I’m sure that your father would hate that you are letting this affect relationships within your extended family.
The Moneyologist
Legally, you are on shaky ground. “People so often add a child to a bank account thinking that it’s the easiest way for the child to help with
bill paying, not realizing that jointly owned bank accounts pass by
operation of law to the surviving owner,” says Kathi L. Ayers, a
principal with Vaughan, Fincher & Sotelo, a Vienna, Va.–based trust and real-estate law firm. In such cases, the co-signee often agrees to share
the remaining funds, she says, adding that “they are not legally
obligated to do so.”
Read: I give my son money and his wife gives it to her church
In Virginia, if you can show “clear and convincing” evidence that the account was made joint only for convenience, you could potentially win a
case, Ayers says, but given the sums involved here the legal fees would
eat up a lot of that. This does not apply to property, if your father
owned any. “If there’s no will, then all property in the decedent’s sole name passes through the intestacy statute in the state in which the
decedent resided. In Virginia, it would go to children equally.”
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That leaves you without closure. What can you do? You can do a lot. You
can go to your family’s events, remember their birthdays and leave the $100,000 question of who should inherit your father’s money aside. While it’s likely that he would not care for the fact that your sister has
kept the money in his bank account, I’m sure that he would hate that you
are letting this affect relationships within your extended family. Show
up for your family, and close this chapter in your life.
Also see: Why double dipping at the movies could land you in jail
Do you have questions about inheritance, tipping, weddings, family
feuds, friends or any tricky issues relating to manners and money? Send
them to MarketWatch’s Moneyologist and please include the state where
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