2 individuals have a joint account at our bank. 1 of the individuals dies. Does the funds in the account go to the deceased persons estate or to the other individual? We have this siutuation and the daughter of the deceased man is taking the other individual on the account to court. Can the bank give any information about the account to the daughter or to the person in charge of his estate?

It would depend on how the signature card was set up. If the card has does not have rights of survivorship than the deceased persons interest would belong to their estate. Otherwise, if the joint account holders have rights of survivorship, than the ownership would belong to the remaining account holder. The bank should not release information to the daughter of the deceased person. The executor of the estate would be the point of contact. If the daughter is taking the other account owner to court, it sounds like the account did NOT have rights of survivorship and then the remaining account holder could be liable if they spent the deceased's money. The bank may want to contact their legal counsel if the daughter already has a legal matter pending.

From doing account administration programs in both states, I can say the laws of Texas and Tennessee are dramatically different in regard to survivorship provisions on joint accounts...this is a question for a state forum.

As to providing information to the personal representative of the decedent's estate, you can generally provide the information you would have provided to the original owner on the date of his death:
* balance amount,
* accrued interest amount, and
* a copy of the contract containing any survivorship provisions.

Talk to your attorney first.

Great point, Ken. I did not look at which state the Poster was from.