What Is the Difference Between a Joint Account and a Convenience Account in Florida?

Many couples, married and unmarried, use joint bank accounts to manage their common finances. A joint account is one that is legally owned by two (or more) persons with survivorship rights. That is to say, when one co-owner dies, their rights in that account automatically vest in the surviving co-owners. The deceased co-owner’s interest in the joint account is not considered an asset of their probate estate.

What Is a Convenience Account?

While multiple co-owners are alive, each has a legal right to access and use the funds in a joint account. This rule applies even when only the funds of one co-owner are used to open or fund the account. As far as Florida law is concerned, the co-owner providing the funds has made a “gift” to the other co-owners.

But Florida law also recognizes what are known as convenience accounts. Section 655.80 of the Florida Statutes defines a convenience account as a bank account opened “in the name of one individual” who designates one or more agents to make deposits and withdrawals on the account. These agents are not co-owners. Rather, they are allowed to access the account only for the convenience of the owner (principal). This also means that upon the convenience account owner’s death, any remaining funds will normally be part of their probate estate.

Florida Courts Reject Daughter’s Efforts to Claim Late Father’s Funds

Estate litigation can arise in Florida when there is a dispute over whether a specific deposit account is a joint account or convenience account. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal recently addressed just such a case. This particular dispute, Pascalides v. Artico, involved a J.P. Morgan bank account worth $2.3 million. The decedent opened the account in 1990 with his then-partner. As of 2004, the account was titled in both of their names. (The decedent was married but had been separated from his wife for many years and was in a relationship with the partner until his death.)

After the decedent passed away, the executrix of his estate–one of his three adult daughters from his marriage–filed a motion in Florida circuit court seeking a declaration that the J.P. Morgan account was actually a convenience account and not a joint account. The circuit court denied the motion and instead sided with the partner in declaring this was a joint account.

The Third District affirmed that ruling. The appellate court noted there was “no dispute that the Account is a joint account” that was solely funded by the decedent. Florida law presumes such accounts are joint accounts. And in fact, the executrix could not point to any evidence that the decedent ever intended the Morgan account to be a convenience account.

Contact a Davie Probate & Estate Litigation Attorney

Determining whether a particular asset belongs to a probate estate can often be a more complicated issue than people realize. If you are involved in such a dispute, it is therefore wise to work with an experienced Davie probate and estate litigation attorney. Contact Valero Law today at 305-607-7011 to schedule a free consultation. We serve clients in Davie, Broward County, Coconut Grove and Miami-Dade County.

Source:

flcourts-media.flcourts.gov/content/download/2483112/opinion/Opinion_2024-1052.pdf