Florida payable on death accounts are financial tools used to keep funds shielded from the probate system. The money is held in a bank account with directions to transfer it to another person/beneficiary upon the primary account holder’s death.
The primary account holder can still access the money while they’re alive, and the recipient will receive whatever still remains in that account after the account holder’s death.
Payable on death accounts, as spelled out in F.S. 655.82 are sometimes the subject of inquiry to our Fort Lauderdale probate litigation attorneys. Let’s say you are the sole surviving heir of a parent. Their spouse has died. They have no other children. You might assume yourself the sole recipient of any of their assets, aside any creditors. However, that may not be the case if your parent had a payable on death account that named someone else the beneficiary. Continue reading