Joint bank accounts between parents and adult children – how are they treated by courts on the death of the parent? – RMS Estates Law

Skip to content

Home
About
Services
Blog
Checklists
Contact

Home
About
Services
Blog
Checklists
Contact

Facebook Instagram Linkedin Youtube

Joint bank accounts between parents and adult children – how are they treated by courts on the death of the parent?

RMS Estates Law
May 6, 2020

My clients are surprised to find out that where a parent and an adult child own a joint bank account, the contents of the account do not automatically pass to the adult child upon the death of the parent.

This is because the courts view this transfer of wealth as a “gratuitous transfer” of money where the parent made all the financial contributions, and therefore, it should flow back to the parent. This is what the law calls a “resulting trust”. In order to invalidate this presumption, the adult child must provide some evidence that a gift was intended.

However, practically speaking, what kind of evidence is acceptable? Here is a list of examples based on court decisions:

Evidence of financial dependence of adult child on the parent
Evidence that the deceased understood that the jointly-held account was going to pass to the adult child on the parent’s death (usually from their lawyer)
Written instructions from the testator
Signed deed of gift

Behavior of the adult child is to be taken into account (i.e. willingness to provide information when one of the estate beneficiaries or the court asks for it)

When interpreting all this information, the determining factor the courts look for is the intention of the testator.

If you have any questions about this topic, I would love to help!

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CONTENT OF THIS BLOG IS MERELY FOR INFORMATION PURPOSES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE.

Share This Post

PrevPreviousWhat happens to real estate you hold in joint tenancy when you pass away?

NextMultiple Wills – why use them?Next

Payment of Funds into Court

What is payment of funds into court? Payment into court is the process of placing funds under the court’s control for safekeeping and neutral administration.

Raluca M. Soica January 26, 2026

Fraud and identity-theft mitigation steps after death

Where there is concern about fraudulent use of the deceased’s credit products or identity, commonly referenced preventative steps include: Procedural tool: Notice of Objection (Ontario)

Raluca M. Soica January 14, 2026

Contact

(647) 280-6497
(647) 694-5290
raluca@rms-law.ca
2005 Sheppard Avenue East, Suite 100, Toronto, Ontario M2J 5B4

Quick Links

Home
About
Services
Blog
Checklists
Contact

Follow me

Facebook Instagram Linkedin Youtube

Terms of Use

Ⓒ 2023 – All rights are reserved by www.rms-law.ca