Pennsylvania Right of Survivorship

Question

Before she passed away, my mother and I shared a joint investment account with the right of survivorship to me. When my mother passed in Jan. 2012, my oldest sister, the executor of my mother's will, demanded I liquidate the assets and send her the money immediately. I've since heard that the funds from the investment account were not part of the estate and should have remained solely with me. Is this true? If so, do I have the right to require the return of that money? (I am not doing this for myself. I want to share recovered money with the children of a deceased sister, whom my oldest sister recently manipulated out of my mother's will when my mother was in poor health and she did so without the knowledge of any family members.) Thanks for any comment you may offer.

Answer

If you haven't done so already, I would say this is something you should likely speak to an attorney about near you. Laws of survivorship and estate execution can get tricky without some clarification from a lawyer.

I am not an attorney, but I did a little research on your question. From what I've found, the funds in the joint investment account to which you had the right to survivorship belong to you and only you and are not part of your mother's estate (unless her will says otherwise). If you've already wrongfully given that money to your sister, that's even more of a reason to get an attorney involved to help insure you're returned what's rightfully yours. Good luck with this matter.

I hope think link from Cornell University Law School helps clarify the definition of "right of survivorship":

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Pennsylvania Right of Survivorship

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