Do joint bank accounts pass outside the will?

What the Law Says

The Succession Act 1965 governs how property passes on death in Ireland. Section 67 addresses the treatment of jointly held property, including bank accounts, and confirms that such assets do not form part of the deceased’s estate for succession purposes when survivorship applies.

In Ireland, a joint bank account held with 'right of survivorship' means that when one account holder dies, their share automatically passes to the surviving joint owner. This happens regardless of what the deceased’s will says.

This automatic transfer occurs because the joint account is treated as a form of co-ownership where the surviving owner acquires the full interest by operation of law — not by gift, bequest, or inheritance under a will.

Section 67 of the Succession Act 1965 explicitly provides that property held jointly does not form part of the deceased’s estate unless there is clear evidence that the joint ownership was intended only for convenience (e.g., to help manage bills), not to confer a beneficial interest on the survivor.

Statutory Text

Property held jointly by two or more persons shall not, on the death of any of them, form part of his estate unless it is shown that the joint holding was in trust for some other person or was for the purpose only of convenience.

— Succession Act 1965, s. 67 — Jointly held property

What to Do

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