Can A Right of Survivorship be Challenged?

Understanding the Right of Survivorship

The right of Survivorship gives the two parties who own the property a right to ownership regardless of how much each of them has invested in the property. All the parties have equal rights to use the property. They are all liable to obligations associated with the property, be it repairs, maintenance, or any other revenues from the property- if it’s an investment.

For instance, if a married couple acquires a house together, they have equal property ownership. In the event of death, the remaining partner assumes the rights of Survivorship. The other interested parties, such as ex-wife, may not be liable to claim inheritance of the house.

However, suppose it is proven that there was no vested monetary interest by one party. In that case, the right to Survivorship can be contested, especially where either of the parties’ names was not included in the title deed.

Close relations, business partners, and couples’ right of Survivorship ensure that the property in joint ownership is protected from contention by interested parties, such as biological children since it allows for automatic property transfer once the owner dies.

It should be noted that the right of Survivorship precedes the terms that may be mentioned in the decedent’s will, though discrepancies in the property deed can allow a challenge of Survivorship in a court of law. This is when interested parties seek the help of lawyers to furnish them with information that can substantially override the existence of the deed.

Therefore, anomalies within the survivorship deed can be contested legally, and its abiding rights can be revoked. So, it’s not a guarantee that property owned jointly will be passed on to the other party in case one passes on.

In most scenarios, married couples, business partners, and relatives usually would want to ensure a smooth transition of real property ownership and rights of Survivorship after the death of the other party. Taking up an asset deed as a joint ownership to facilitate swift and smooth property is essential.

However, the laws that govern Survivorship vary across different legal jurisdictions and the circumstances surrounding the need for contesting the deed. If challenging the validity of Survivorship is possible, there will be a need to seek services offered by an attorney with a specialty in property law.

can right of survivorship bank account be challenged in california

California courts recognize that survivorship rights in joint bank accounts may be challenged if clear and convincing evidence demonstrating the original account holder had contrary intentions than what was assumed in its creation. This principle was established by the Placencia case, in which it recognized the possibility of overriding default survivorship rights should proof be found showing otherwise by decedent.

What can challenge the rights of Survivorship?

The Survivorship can be contested if there are arising cases as listed below:

• When the deed was acquired under fraudulent procedures, one party agreed to joint ownership without proper knowledge or full understanding of the document’s contents. Forgery can be detected when there is a difference between the signatures provided in survivorship documents and the title deed signed by the grantor. Also, fraudulent actions can be noted if the deceased was deceived regarding the situations that prevailed when the deed was signed.
• There is a scenario where a son handed over some documents to his elderly mother living in a care home. The mother did not have the strength to read through the whole draft, so she signed the documents in spaces where a signature was needed. She had no idea what the documents were all about. Another sibling finds out about the incident and, on inquiry, finds that the other sibling has rights of Survivorship of the mom’s property. In this case, the mother confirms that she had no intentions of passing or granting such rights to the said son. In such a case, the rights of Survivorship can be challenged.
• The son acquired the right through dubious means. Hence, it can be challenged. Most elderly parents may not intend to pass their properties to their children, probably due to inevitable circumstances. Elderly children could be aware of such intention and may plot schemes to ensure they inherit everything without proper procedure or consent from parents. This has happened before, and such cases are always contested in courts of law to uphold the interests of parents, even if they are old.
• Real estate property survivorship can be contested when a parent is weak, and the child or a relative receives the right to Survivorship. The fact that the parent was not of sound mind allows the rights of Survivorship to be challenged on grounds of undue influence. The decedent must have decided under the influence of the beneficiary, hence not acting under their capacity. The medical records of the decedent can be used as proof that the joint venture may have been achieved at a time when the deceased was under the influence of strong medication, hence altering rational decision-making.
• The rights of Survivorship can also be contested if there are nuances that the decedent was pressured into the agreement of the deed. There are many situations where individuals are tortured or forced to sign up for joint property ownership to allow the beneficiary to get a smooth transfer of property after their death. These cases mainly arise between couples or between parents and their children. Hence, if an interested party suspects such duress, they can file the case with the help of a competent property lawyer to try to get an override of the right of Survivorship.
• For instance, a sibling living in her parent’s house is ordered to vacate by the brother because the survivorship rights belong to him since he ought to inherit them. In this case, the sister can contest the reversal of the deed if she proves the circumstances surrounding the rights of Survivorship are faulty.
• If the draft shows that the document has been mistaken or may have been wrongfully prepared, then the Survivorship may be contested. In such a case, the party involved may file a suit challenging the deed, or rather, any mistakes noticeable on the documents may make the transition process difficult.

The right of Survivorship will not always be challenged, though it depends on the property jointly owned, the reason why it’s challenged, and how convincing the evidence is. Looking into these three factors, rights of Survivorship that can be challenged pertain to given conditions. For instance, when a parent operates a joint account with a child, the child automatically assumes ownership when the parent dies.

A sibling can contest the bank account transfer on the grounds of convenience. It could be argued that at the time when the joint agreement of account ownership was made, the parent needed someone to help with transactions in the bank in their absence; hence, it did not necessarily imply the parent had the intention of passing over the ownership rights of operating the bank account to the said child, but joint ownership at the time was for convenience purposes.

In addition, the rights to Survivorship can be contested if there is no evidence of Survivorship on the signature card and the records in the bank account do not show any form of intention to transfer survivorship rights. In some other cases, Survivorship can be challenged because the parent operated the joint account for convenience purposes so that the child could carry out financial transactions on behalf of the parent.

Furthermore, the deed can be contested because the decedent did not intend to confer Survivorship to the child. However, the child was only allowed to make minor withdrawals on behalf of the parent.

Bottomline

A survivorship deed is a legally binding agreement of ownership transfer through joint ownership of property or bank account. People engage in this agreement to be aware of who takes over ownership of their property after their death. It also ensures that property or bank accounts are smoothly transferred to the interested party with ease. This does not, however, imply that every survivorship agreement is legal. Some circumstances occur where such deals are made without proper procedure or documentation.

For example, a parent under heavy sedation making an agreement of Survivorship under the influence of drugs can be contested, as coercing someone to sign an agreement of Survivorship without their full understanding, a bank account jointly owned between a parent and a sibling for convenience purposes, fraudulent acquisition of signatures, and pressuring someone into agreeing Survivorship can all be challenged. These incidents may prompt the affected party to challenge the right of Survivorship with the help of an attorney specializing in property law.