It is very common for a retired couple to have a joint bank account. While this has practical benefits, it is also the source of many family disputes in the event of death. Here’s why.
When one of the two joint account holders dies, their relatives must notify the bank. However, unlike the procedure provided for an individual account, the bank will not automatically block the account, which will therefore continue to operate. The surviving spouse, civil partner or cohabitant will therefore still be able to use it for day-to-day transactions: withdrawals, deposits, transfers, etc.
This option can pose a problem with regard to inheritance law. According to the rules of inheritance, half of the sums appearing in the joint account must in fact go to the heirs of the deceased. Theoretically, the surviving holder cannot therefore spend more than his share. In the event of expenses exceeding this, the heirs will be entitled to demand reimbursement.
The account holder must therefore remember that the money available does not belong to him in full. He can continue to use the account but without touching the sums belonging to the deceased at the time of his death. He must then return to the heirs their share in the settlement of the inheritance.
But in practice, it happens that the account is emptied. This is often the case when the surviving owner finds himself in financial need due to the loss of the deceased’s income. And the damage to other heirs can sometimes be particularly significant if the account had a high balance at the time of death.
This hypothesis may therefore arouse the suspicion of some heirs, especially since they do not have access to the account. In practice, this situation is particularly frequent when the deceased had remarried, and his or her children came into conflict with their mother-in-law or father-in-law. To prevent any abuse, the children of the deceased have the right to request that the account be blocked. They must then send a registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt to the bank.
For his part, the account holder may also consider that the sums claimed at the time of the inheritance did not all belong to the deceased. He is then strongly advised to keep all the useful supporting documents proving the origin of the sums entered in the account: bank statements, pay slips, proof of pensions, tax notices, lease contract in the case of rental income, etc. He will then be able to rely on these documents if an amount is unduly claimed from him by the heirs.
These precautions on both sides can sometimes seem excessive when the funeral seems to go off without a problem. But nothing prevents the account holder and the heirs from anticipating any conflict, disagreements linked to inheritance being unfortunately very frequent, with disputes sometimes being able to arise several months after the death.
