30.22.100 - Ownership of funds after death of a depositor. - Washington Statutes

Ownership of funds after death of a depositor.

Subject to community property rights and subject to the terms and provisions of any community property agreement, upon the death of a depositor:

     (1) Funds which remain on deposit in a single account belong to the depositor's estate.

     (2) Funds belonging to a deceased depositor which remain on deposit in a joint account without right of survivorship belong to the depositor's estate, unless the depositor has also designated a trust or P.O.D. account beneficiary of the depositor's interest in the account.

     (3) Funds belonging to a deceased depositor which remain on deposit in a joint account with right of survivorship belong to the surviving depositors unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a contrary intent at the time the account was created. If there is more than one individual having right of survivorship, the funds belong equally to the surviving depositors unless the contract of deposit otherwise provides. If there is more than one surviving depositor, the rights of survivorship shall continue between the surviving depositors.

     (4) Funds remaining on deposit in a trust or P.O.D. account belong to the trust or P.O.D. account beneficiary designated by the deceased depositor unless the account has also been designated as a joint account with right of survivorship, in which event the funds remaining on deposit in the account do not belong to the trust or P.O.D. account beneficiary until the death of the last surviving depositor and the rights of the surviving depositors shall be determined by subsection (3) of this section. If the deceased depositor has designated more than one trust or P.O.D. account beneficiary, and more than one of the beneficiaries survive the depositor, the funds belong equally to the surviving beneficiaries unless the depositor has specifically designated a different method of distribution in the contract of deposit; if two or more beneficiaries survive, there is no right of survivorship as between them unless the terms of the account or deposit agreement expressly provide for rights of survivorship between the beneficiaries.

     (5) Upon the death of a depositor of an agency account, the agency shall terminate and any funds remaining on deposit belonging to the deceased depositor shall become the property of the depositor's estate or such other persons who may be entitled thereto, depending upon whether the account was a single account, joint account, joint account with right of survivorship, or a trust or P.O.D. account.

     Any transfers to surviving depositors or to trust or P.O.D. account beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of this section are declared to be effective by reason of the provisions of the account contracts involved and this chapter and are not to be considered as testamentary dispositions. The rights of survivorship and of trust and P.O.D. account beneficiaries arise from the express terms of the contract of deposit and cannot, under any circumstances, be changed by the will of a depositor.

[1981 c 192 § 10.]