[WSBAPT] Disclaimer of Funds in a Joint Bank Account with Rights of Survivorship

[Lewis, Amy C.]

Laura,

              Keep in mind that a non-spouse beneficiary cannot disclaim their interest in an account as JTWROS and then receive an interest in the same asset as a beneficiary under the Will.

We have done TEDRA agreements relying on this language in RCW 30A.22.090(2):  “or there is clear and convincing evidence of a contrary intent at the time the account was created.”  We have not reported gifts in these cases, but have never had a case where the IRS has reviewed this outcome.


Amy Lewis, Attorney
Pronouns she/her/hers
[cid:Logo_fa335a1d-9f24-4802-a3dd-b58f259e3c98.png]

909 A Street, Suite 600 | Tacoma, WA 98402
phone 253.572.4500 | fax 253.272.5732 | www.eisenhowerlaw.com<http://www.eisenhowerlaw.com/>
From: wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com <wsbapt-bounces at lists.wsbarppt.com> On Behalf Of Laura Latta
Sent: Wednesday, November 6, 2024 10:21 PM
To: WSBA Probate & Trust Listserv <wsbapt at lists.wsbarppt.com>
Subject: [WSBAPT] Disclaimer of Funds in a Joint Bank Account with Rights of Survivorship

Listmates,

In a joint account with rights of survivorship (where the parties are not spouses) and the Decedent has contributed all the assets of the account, can the surviving joint owner disclaim the assets of the account so that the assets are distributed under the Decedent's will (assuming no POD) without gift tax implications?

My reading of RCW 30A22.090<https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=30A.22.090> indicates that if the account only holds assets originating from the one account holder, then during the account holder's life, the other account holder does not "own" the assets.

If so, would it be accurate to say that the "transfer creating the interest" happens on the death of the decedent and a qualified disclaimer would still be available within 9 months of the decedent's death?

If a qualified disclaimer is properly executed, do the account assets then belong to the estate (assuming no POD) under RCW 30A.22.100<https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=30A.22.100>?

What other solutions have you used to redistribute joint account assets where all parties agree the decedent's intent was for the account to be distributed to the will beneficiaries rather than the surviving owner? Am I right that a TEDRA agreement would likely result in gift tax returns needing to be filed because the parties are cooperating? Or could the discrepancy between the joint account and the decedent's intent be a bona fide dispute even where the parties are working amicably to sort it out?

All thoughts and ideas are welcome.

Warmly,
Laura

Laura Latta
Law Office of Laura Latta PLLC
she/her

Phone (206) 841-2344
www.LauraLatta.com<http://www.LauraLatta.com>

4010 Lake Washington Blvd. NE Ste. 202

Kirkland, WA 98033

NOTICE:  This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you have received it in error, please advise the sender by replying to this email and immediately delete the message and any attachments without copying it or disclosing its contents to others.

 IMPORTANT/CONFIDENTIAL: This e-mail message (and any attachments accompanying it) may contain confidential information, including information protected by attorney-client privilege. The information is intended only for the use of the intended recipient(s). Delivery of this message to anyone other than the intended recipient(s) is not intended to waive any privilege or otherwise detract from the confidentiality of the message. If you are not the intended recipient, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, do not read, disclose, reproduce, distribute, disseminate or otherwise use this transmission. Rather, please promptly notify the sender by reply e-mail, and then destroy all copies of the message and its attachments, if any.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20241107/81e700b3/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Logo_fa335a1d-9f24-4802-a3dd-b58f259e3c98.png
Type: image/png
Size: 22687 bytes
Desc: Logo_fa335a1d-9f24-4802-a3dd-b58f259e3c98.png
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/wsbapt/attachments/20241107/81e700b3/Logo_fa335a1d-9f24-4802-a3dd-b58f259e3c98.png>