{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-391.315","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 391.315","heading":"Right of survivorship.","body":"(1) (a) Sums remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account belong to\nthe surviving party or parties to the account as against the estate of the\ndecedent unless there is clear and convincing written evidence of a different\nintention at the time th e account is created. If there are two or more surviving\nparties their respective ownerships during lifetime shall be in proportion to\ntheir previous ownership interests under KRS 391.310 augmented by an equal\nshare for each survivor of any interest the de cedent may have owned in the\naccount immediately before his death; and the right of survivorship continues\nbetween the surviving parties.\n(b) In transferring or releasing joint account funds subsequent to the date of death\nof one (1) or more of the named j oint account holders, a financial institution\nor other appropriate third party may rely conclusively on the form and terms\nof the account to pay in accordance with paragraph (a) of this subsection. The\ntransfer or release of those joint account funds has n o bearing on the actual\nrights of ownership of the funds as between the surviving party or parties to\nthe account and the dower or curtesy interest of any surviving spouse. The\ntransfer or release by a financial institution or third party in accordance wit h\nthis section shall constitute a full release and discharge of the financial\ninstitution or third party from all claims relating to ownership.\n(2) If the account is a P.O.D. account, on death of the original payee or of the survivor\nof two or more original payees, any sums remaining on deposit belong to the P.O.D.\npayee or payees if surviving, or to the survivor of them if one or more die before the\noriginal payee; if two or more P.O.D. payees survive, there is no right of\nsurvivorship in event of death of  a P.O.D. payee thereafter unless the terms of the\naccount or deposit agreement expressly provide for survivorship between them.\n(3) If the account is a trust account, on death of the trustee or the survivor of two or\nmore trustees, any sums remaining on d eposit belong to the person or persons\nnamed as beneficiaries, if surviving, or to the survivor of them if one or more die\nbefore the trustee, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a contrary intent;\nif two or more beneficiaries survive, there i s no right of survivorship in event of\ndeath of any beneficiary thereafter unless the terms of the account or deposit\nagreement expressly provide for survivorship between them.\n(4) In other cases, the death of any party to a multiple -party account has no e ffect on\nbeneficial ownership of the account other than to transfer the rights of the decedent\nas part of his estate.\n(5) A right of survivorship arising from the express terms of the account or under this\nsection, a beneficiary designation in a trust acco unt, or a P.O.D. payee designation,\ncannot be changed by will.","path":["KRS Chapter 391"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=36164","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:23Z","sha256":"a8396c9d81428c266deafb1bcd372a704a6d534c1da9b472d0b4154ef5b33dd1","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-391.310","next":"us-ky/krs-391.320"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}