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Home >> Manage Your Money >> Personal Finance
Account Ownership Question
My father has an account with my brother and not my mother. When he dies, can my mother, who is legally his wife, get access to that account to handle household and other bills for my father? My brother is crooked. How can my mother, who has no money, protect herself and my father?
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 You need to verify this based on the laws of your state, but if your mother is not on the account, it is likely that when your father passes, the money in the account will belong to your brother. He is an owner on the account and has access to all of the money in it. It can be an impossible task to try to decide which owner put which dollars in an account and who spent what. It may be that 100% of the funds go to your brother, or if your father is assumed to own 50%, then half could go to your mother.
Talk to your parents about estate planning with a lawyer or financial adviser.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 9/01/10
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