Wisconsin Statutes 705.04 – Right of survivorship
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Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 705.04
- Account: means a contract of deposit of funds between a depositor and a financial institution, and includes a checking or savings account, certificate of deposit, share account and other like arrangement. See Wisconsin Statutes 705.01
- Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
- Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
- Decedent: A deceased person.
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Financial institution: means any organization authorized to do business under state or federal laws relating to financial institutions, including, without limitation, banks and trust companies, savings banks, building and loan associations, savings and loan associations and credit unions. See Wisconsin Statutes 705.01
- Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Joint account: means an account, other than a marital account, payable on request to one or more of 2 or more parties whether or not mention is made of any right of survivorship. See Wisconsin Statutes 705.01
- Marital account: means an account established without the right of survivorship on or after January 1, 1986, by 2 parties who claim to be husband and wife, which is payable on request to either or both of the parties and which is designated as a marital account. See Wisconsin Statutes 705.01
- Minor: means a person who has not attained the age of 18 years, except that for purposes of investigating or prosecuting a person who is alleged to have violated a state or federal criminal law or any civil law or municipal ordinance, "minor" does not include a person who has attained the age of 17 years. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- party: includes a guardian, conservator, personal representative or assignee, including an attaching creditor, of a party. See Wisconsin Statutes 705.01
- Property: includes real and personal property. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
- Right of survivorship: The ownership rights that result in the acquisition of title to property by reason of having survived other co-owners.
- Sums on deposit: means the balance payable on a multiple-party account including interest, dividends, and any deposit life insurance proceeds added to the account by reason of the death of a party. See Wisconsin Statutes 705.01
(1) Sums remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account belong to the surviving party or parties as against the estate of the decedent unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intention at the time the account is created. If there are 2 or more surviving parties, their ownership interests during lifetime shall remain subject to s. 705.03 (1); and the right of survivorship continues between the surviving parties.
(2) If the account is a P.O.D. account, on the death of the original payee or the survivor of 2 or more original payees, all of the following apply:
(a) If there is one P.O.D. beneficiary and he or she survives, he or she is entitled to payment of all sums remaining on deposit.
(b) If there are 2 or more P.O.D. beneficiaries and they all survive, they are entitled to payment of the sums on deposit in accordance with any written instructions that the owner filed with the financial institution or, if the owner left no written instructions, to payment in equal shares.
(c) If 2 or more persons succeed to ownership of the account, there is no further right of survivorship unless the terms of the account expressly provide for survivorship or for the account’s continuance as a joint account.
(d) Subject to the rights of financial institutions under s. 705.06 (1) (c), if any P.O.D. beneficiary predeceases the original payee or the survivor of 2 or more original payees, the amount to which the predeceased P.O.D. beneficiary would have been entitled passes to any of his or her issue who would take under s. 854.06 (3).
(e) If no P.O.D. beneficiary or predeceased P.O.D. beneficiary’s issue who would take under s. 854.06 (3) survives the death of all owners, the account belongs to the estate of the deceased sole owner or the estate of the last to die of multiple owners.
(f) Payment may be made to a minor P.O.D. beneficiary only in accordance with a procedure approved under ch. 54.
(g) If the P.O.D. account is a marital account, this section applies only to the 50 percent of the account not owned by the surviving spouse named as a party on the account.
(2g) Notwithstanding subs. (1) and (2), the department of health services may collect, from funds of a decedent that are held by the decedent immediately before death in a joint account or a P.O.D. account, an amount equal to the medical assistance that is recoverable under s. 49.496 (3) (a), an amount equal to aid under s. 49.68, 49.683, 49.685, or 49.785 that is recoverable under s. 49.682 (2) (a) or (am), or an amount equal to long-term community support services under s. 46.27, 2017 stats., that is recoverable under s. 46.27 (7g) (c) 1., 2017 stats., and that was paid on behalf of the decedent or the decedent’s spouse.
(2m) Unless a marital property agreement under s. 766.58 provides otherwise, after deducting all payments and certifications made under s. 404.405 50 percent of the sums remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a marital account belongs to and may, upon the maturity of the account, be withdrawn by the surviving spouse and 50 percent belongs to and may, upon the maturity of the account, be withdrawn by the decedent’s estate. No financial institution is liable for any amount withdrawn under this subsection by a party who falsely claims to be the decedent’s spouse.
(3) Subject to s. 853.15, a right of survivorship arising from the express terms of the account or under this section, or a P.O.D. beneficiary designation, cannot be changed by will. Any transfers resulting from the application of this section are not to be considered testamentary dispositions.
(4) As to any deposit made on or after January 1, 1986, a surviving spouse who is not a party to the account may recover under s. 766.70 (6).