Can checking accounts be set up to avoid probate?
Maxine asked...
I am on my mother's checking and savings account, which is the only thing of any value that she has. Is this sufficient to avoid probate?
Expert Answer
Barbara Repa, a Caring.com senior editor, is an attorney, a journalist specializing in aging issues, and the author of Your Rights in the Workplace (Nolo), now in its 10th edition.
Check with the bank officer’s to be sure that you are either on the account as a joint owner, or that your mother has designated you as the "pay-on-death" beneficiary. If either of these is true, you should get the money in the account immediately when your mother dies, without the need for it to pass through probate.