If a married couple have a joint bank account and one dies, does the account pass automatically into the name of the survivor? What would happen if the husband or wife made a will leaving his or her share to someone else without telling the other partner?
This is surprisingly complicated. Control of the account would pass to the surviving spouse, but if (for example) the husband had put all the money into the account, his personal representatives could lay claim to it on the grounds that the will gave sufficient evidence of his intention for the money not to pass to his wife. If the monies in the account had been contributed 50-50 this is less likely unless the husband had specifically informed his wife about his plans for the bank account.