What happens to joint bank accounts in an intestate succession?

When someone dies without a will in West Virginia, their assets are distributed according to the state’s intestate succession laws. This means that the state will decide how to divide the deceased’s assets among their heirs or beneficiaries. One of the assets that can be distributed in an intestate succession is a joint bank account. If an individual in West Virginia has a joint bank account with another person, the funds in the account will become part of the estate of the deceased. The account will be frozen until all of the deceased’s debts have been paid and the remaining assets have been divided among the heirs or beneficiaries. If any funds remain in the account after all of the debts are paid, the remaining funds will be divided according to the intestate succession laws. The surviving joint account holder will not be able to access the funds in the frozen account until the probate court has released the funds. The surviving joint account holder normally does not have a legal claim to any of the funds in the account, since the funds are part of the deceased’s estate. However, the surviving joint account holder may be able to make a claim if they can prove that the deceased contributed more funds to the account than the surviving joint account holder. In such a case, the probate court will decide how much of the funds should be returned to the surviving joint account holder.

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What happens to joint bank accounts in an intestate succession?

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