Joint Account

[Tom G]

I am doing executor for my first cousins extate .I've discovered that all of her money is in a joint account with a neighbour who is not related. The neighbour drove her to collect the pension etc. My cousin who was single and rented out rooms over the years never declared TAX. The fact that he she had a lot of money saved in a joint account indicated to the tax people that she had a good earnings from her property.The joint account holder is demanding that she be free to cash in all of the joint account now. Can I ask that this account be kept open until such time as my cousins tax liability are met. Can I request that the first call for the tax be from this joint account.

 

[Vanilla]

Really depends on the wording of the will and what other property there is as to whether you can prioritise this account to pay any tax. Presume you have had legal advice on this joint account and have inspected the joint account mandate. If not, you should do so now.

 

[Tom G]

A hypothetical question ? Woman with Large house and no will. All her cash is in a two joint accounts 50% with her neighbour neighbour and 50 % with her neighbours Husband. I want to use this money to pay her tax. I wasn't aware of a joint account mandate .Is this where one of the joint account holders specifies their wishes on what happend to the money after their death.

 

[Vanilla]

It's not a hypothetical question, though, is it?

Have you had legal advice on these joint accounts? There is specific case law on these very issues. Though a starting point is always to look for a copy of the mandate for exactly the reason you state.