I'm told by somebody with personal experience that even though my name is on Mom's bank accounts, when she dies the account will still be locked pending probate because my brother and I are both named in the will. The advice is that I should move most all the money to a new account without Mom's name on it. Does anyone confirm this to be true. I am in TN.
Also - if I move the money into a new account with my and my brother's names, does it affect our taxes?
It does not require a death certificate unless you are only on the account as POD (pay on death).
my Mom put me as joint owner on nearly all of her accounts, most of them didn’t allow a POD designation. I had to prove nothing to the bank after she passed. Except the bank accounts I learned about after she died, no bank even so much as questioned my rights.
It should be something to the effect of "Seldel's mother and Seldel, jointly (or joint tenants) with rights of survivorship." The survivorship wording is the key to allowing funds to pass directly to you on death.
I don't recall for sure whether the "joint tenant" wording was on our accounts. But they were jointly held, and passed to me w/o any action whatever after my father died.
You should also ask the banker about liability in the event the funds are frozen for debts; it shouldn't extend beyond that joint account, but double check to be sure.