Yes, your bank may remove a deceased joint owner’s name and social security number from an account, but we do not recommend opening a new account without a signed signature card from the surviving owner.

As of the date of death, joint account funds automatically pass to the surviving joint owner. Assuming that your bank has a written account agreement establishing the joint account with rights of survivorship and confirmation of the death (such as a copy of the death certificate), your bank may remove the deceased owner from the account. These steps, which should make it clear in your account records that the joint owner has died, could help to avoid the improper reporting of interest to the IRS under the decedent’s SSN, the deposit of a check or other item payable to the decedent more than ten days after the date of death, vulnerability to identity theft, and other potential issues.

While it may be beneficial from an operational perspective to take the additional step of closing these joint accounts and opening new accounts, we do not recommend doing so without obtaining the surviving owner’s consent on a signature card or account agreement for the new, individual account. Without the owner’s signature, your bank might be unable to enforce the terms and conditions of the new account.

If an account is held by tenants in common with no rights of survivorship, we believe that the deceased owner should remain on the account. In such cases, we recommend noting in your account records that the deceased owner’s share now belongs to the deceased owner’s estate, using the estate’s EIN if available. Without action by the estate’s executor or administrator (or by small estate affidavit, if applicable), however, your bank should not remove the deceased owner’s estate from the account.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Joint Tenancy Act, 765 ILCS 1005/2(a) (“When a deposit in any bank . . . transacting business in this State has been made or shall hereafter be made in the names of 2 or more persons payable to them when the account is opened or thereafter, the deposit or any part thereof or any interest or dividend thereon may be paid to any one of those persons whether the other or others be living or not, and when an agreement permitting such payment is signed by all those persons at the time the account is opened or thereafter the receipt or acquittance of the person so paid shall be valid and sufficient discharge from all parties to the bank for any payments so made.”)

• Doubler v. Doubler, 412 Ill. 597, 601 (1952) (“[A]n agreement signed by [the husband] and [the wife] permitting payment to the survivor was necessary to create rights of survivorship in the deposit and that the changing of the names on the account by a third party, the bank cashier, at the direction of one of the parties alone, is insufficient to satisfy the requirements of the statute.”)

• Bray v. Illinois Nat. Bank of Springfield, 345 N.E.2d 503, 505 (Ill. App. 4th Dist. 1976) (“It is clear under the [Joint Tenancy Act] and the cases that no joint account was created. . .  [The Joint Tenancy Act] has consistently been interpreted to mean that a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship cannot be created in a deposit account except by parties signing an agreement such as the signature card provides.”)

• Uniform Commercial Code, 810 ILCS 5/4-405(b) (“Even with knowledge [of a customer’s death], a bank may for 10 days after the date of death pay or certify checks drawn on or before that date unless ordered to stop payment by a person claiming an interest in the account.”)