QUESTION
Are the remaining payable on death funds in a deceased members banking account considered inheritance?
Asked on Jan 25th, 2021 on Estate Planning - Georgia
More details to this question:
I am the beneficiary and wanted to make sure that it does not become part of the estate that should pay any remaining medical bills, etc. and that it will not be taxed in Georgia. Thanks.
3 ANSWERS
2 Awards
If something, such as a POD account, passes outside the Will, it is only clawed back if the estate which passes under the Will is insufficient to pay expenses.
Some states have an inheritance tax. Some states have an income tax. Federal income tax applies to all income, including through a POD account.
Answered on Jan 26th, 2021 at 5:41 AM
This is general information. It cannot substitute for a personal consultation with an attorney. It is not intended to be legal advice or imply an attorney-client relationship.
Probate Litigation Attorney serving Lawrenceville, GA
at
Robert W. Hughes & Associates, P.C.
Update Your Profile
If you are named as the person who receives the balance in a bank accoutn at the death of another person, that money is not part of the probate estate. That money is yours adn you have no obligatni to pay any of the deceased's person's bills or funeral expenses with the money. It is yours to keep and spend as you see fit.
Answered on Jan 26th, 2021 at 5:30 AM
4 Awards
Assets held in an account that is subject to a payable on death (POD) beneficiary designation do not become part of the decedent's probate estate. Instead, they are paid directly to the beneficiary. However, with POD or transfer on death (TOD) designation, if the decedent's estate turns out to be insolvent, the creditors could legally come looking to the POD/TOD beneficiary for payment of the decedent's debts. So, there is some risk of a creditor claim, although it's likely to be small, and the probate estate assets should be used before any creditor comes after POD or TOD beneficiaries. (Note: some assets payable under beneficiary designations that are NOT POD or TOD designations, such as beneficiary designations on IRAs or other retirement plans and life insurance, have more protection against creditor claims than POD/TOD accounts do.)
Georgia has no estate or inheritance taxes, so assets received from a Georgia decedent normally will not be subject to any such taxes unless the decedent's estate was large enough to generate a federal estate tax.
If you have actual questions about a real situation, however, please don't rely on this kind of forum. Get an actual consultation from an attorney. That's the only way that anyone will be able to get enough information about your actual situation to give you legal advice.
Best wishes to you.
Answered on Jan 26th, 2021 at 5:09 AM
This answer is being provided as general information and not as legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by this answer.