The bank should be able to provide appropriate account information to the executor for the deceased joint accountholder’s estate, but it must be careful not to violate the privacy rights of the current account owner. The executor should have access to information about the account up until the date of death but would not have any right to information about the account after the date of death.

The federal privacy regulations permit banks to disclose account information to “persons holding a legal or beneficial interest relating to the consumer.” 12 CFR 1016.15(a)(2)(iv). The executor of an accountholder’s estate would clearly have a relevant legal interest, as the executor steps into the shoes of the decedent and “acquires the same interest in property as the decedent had.” Ilg v. Continental Ill. Nat. Bank & Trust Co., 94 Ill. App. 3d 143, 150 (1st Dist. 1968). However, the executor’s interest in the account stops at the date of death of the deceased accountholder; because the account was a joint account, ownership of the account automatically passed to the secondary owner when the primary owner died. 765 ILCS 1005/2.