Probate court requires information on banking accounts at time of death, are joint accounts subject to probate?

Technically probate means passing under a will; "joint accounts that pass by survivorship" generally are not probate. However the law might require reporting of both probate and nonprobate when there is any probate. Ask an attorney in the state where the probate proceeeding is located.

Expanding on the previous answers, I agree with them, generally speaking. We have been involved with a number of contested probate estates, however, where it was alleged that the joint accounts were held in that manner, for *convenience* alone. There is a statute creating a presumption that joint accounts are intended to pass to the survivors, upon the death of one account holder. That presumption can be overcome, if there is evidence that suggests that it was the decedent's intent that the accounts should be considered a part of the estate. In one case, the decedent's Will specifically stated that any joint accounts were set up that way for convenience only and that they were intended to be distributed along with the other probate assets. If the decedent in your case expressed similar intent and it can be proven, then the accounts should be included in the probate assets. Otherwise, I would agree that probate is not necessary for those accounts. James Frederick