When Robert Castillo died in the spring of 2025, his family thought they understood exactly how his estate would be divided. Robert had a will — drafted years earlier by a McKinney attorney — that split his assets equally among his three adult children: Elena, Marcus, and Daniel. He had a house, a brokerage account, and a checking account at a regional bank that had been in his family for forty years.
The checking account — worth approximately $147,000 — was listed on the bank's online portal as a "Joint Tenants With Right of Survivorship" account. Daniel, the youngest child, had been added to the account seven years earlier to help Robert pay bills after a knee surgery. The two men had simply walked into a branch together and added Daniel's name. No forms were explained. No agreements were signed in any way Daniel recalled.
When Robert died, Elena and Marcus assumed the checking account would go into the estate and be split three ways per the will. Daniel assumed the opposite — that "JTWROS" meant the account was automatically his, bypassing the will entirely. A probate attorney brought in to administer the estate pulled out the account-opening documents and discovered something that surprised the entire family.
The original paperwork contained no survivorship election. The bank's internal records showed the account was joint, but the form Daniel and Robert had signed seven years earlier — a signature card updating account access — was not a survivorship agreement. Under Texas law, that distinction matters more than most families realize.
The Rule Most Families Get Completely Wrong
There is a widespread assumption in Texas — and across the country — that adding someone to a bank account automatically creates survivorship rights. If two people share an account and one dies, the survivor gets the money. That's how it works, right?
In Texas, the answer is: only if the account documents say so. And not just in any way. The survivorship must be established by a written agreement signed by the party who dies.
Texas Estates Code § 113.151(a) is the controlling statute. It provides that a joint account creates a right of survivorship only if the deceased party's interest in the account was made to survive — and only if that survivorship was established "by written agreement signed by the party who dies." The agreement must exist. It must be signed. And it must have been signed by the person whose estate is now at issue.
Section 113.151(b) provides what sufficient survivorship language looks like. Words such as "with right of survivorship" or "as joint tenants with right of survivorship" in a written, signed agreement are enough. But here is what the statute explicitly prohibits in subsection (c): survivorship may not be inferred from the mere fact that an account is jointly held, or from a label like "JT TEN," "JTWROS," or "Joint Tenancy" appearing on an account statement, a bank portal, or a deposit slip.
In plain terms: the words on the screen do not create survivorship. The signed agreement does. And those are often two very different things.
What Happens Without a Signed Survivorship Agreement
When a joint account lacks a valid survivorship agreement, Texas Estates Code § 113.155 governs. Under that section, the deceased account holder's interest in the account does not pass automatically to the surviving account holder. Instead, it passes through the decedent's estate — which means it follows the will if one exists, or Texas intestacy law if it does not.
In Robert Castillo's case, the $147,000 checking account was not Daniel's by operation of law. Because Robert's interest passed through his estate, and because his will divided his assets equally among all three children, each child was entitled to one-third of the account balance — $49,000 each.
Daniel had not done anything wrong. He had not manipulated his father or structured the account with any improper intent. He had simply walked into a bank branch and added his name for practical reasons. But the signed paperwork he and his father completed that day did not include the specific survivorship language required under Texas law.
The bank's online system displayed "JTWROS" — a label the bank had populated automatically on any jointly held account, regardless of whether the underlying documents actually created survivorship. That label, as § 113.151(c) makes explicit, is legally irrelevant on its own.
Why Survivorship Disputes End Up in Probate Court
Families almost never realize there is a dispute until it is too late to resolve it informally. The surviving joint account holder assumes the account is theirs. The executor — representing the estate and all beneficiaries under the will — examines the actual account documents and identifies the absence of a valid survivorship agreement. The bank, following its obligation to the estate once a probate proceeding is opened, may freeze the account pending legal guidance.
At that point, the question of whether the account passes to the joint holder or into the estate becomes a contested probate matter. The resolution depends on the actual documents — the signature cards, account agreements, and any formal survivorship election on file with the bank — not on what the account was called or how it appeared on a screen.
Collin County probate courts routinely see these disputes. They arise most often in three situations:
- Convenience accounts. A parent adds an adult child to pay bills or manage finances after an illness or surgery. The paperwork never addressed survivorship because the purpose was access, not inheritance.
- Old accounts at community banks. Accounts opened decades ago at smaller institutions sometimes lack complete records or used forms that predated current Texas statutory requirements.
- Accounts opened at national chains with standardized forms. Some banks use joint account signature cards that do not include a survivorship election at all, relying instead on a separate "account features" or "ownership designation" form that many account holders never complete.
The Ownership Question During Lifetime
It is worth separating two questions that are frequently confused. The first question — who owns the account while all parties are alive — is governed by Texas Estates Code § 113.102, which provides that a joint account belongs to the parties in proportion to their net contributions to the account, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intent. Joint titling, by itself, does not make the account half-owned by each party.
The second question — who gets the account when one party dies — is governed by § 113.151. That question turns entirely on whether a signed survivorship agreement exists.
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Section § 113.101(2) makes clear that the lifetime ownership rules "do not affect the right of a party to withdraw funds from the account" during life — so a co-owner can legally withdraw money even if they contributed nothing to the account. This creates real risk in convenience arrangements. But it does not answer who inherits the remaining balance at death.
How a Valid Survivorship Agreement Actually Works
Texas Estates Code § 113.151(b) provides safe-harbor language. A survivorship agreement exists when the account documents contain language such as "will be owned by the survivor" or "with right of survivorship" in a form signed by the party whose estate is later at issue.
Most national banks today have separate account-election forms — sometimes called a "beneficiary designation" or "right of survivorship" election — that are distinct from the signature card used to add a joint owner. A family member added to an account for convenience purposes may sign a signature card without ever completing a survivorship election. The two documents serve different functions, and completing one does not complete the other.
For accounts opened before these standardized forms became common, the records may be incomplete or inaccessible. Texas probate courts do not infer survivorship from missing paperwork. The burden of establishing that a valid survivorship agreement exists falls on the party claiming survivorship rights.
What This Means for Executors and Beneficiaries
If you are serving as executor of a Texas estate that includes joint accounts, your obligations include:
- Requesting the actual account-opening documents from the bank — not merely account statements or online summaries.
- Examining whether a signed survivorship election exists for any jointly held account.
- If no signed agreement exists, treating the decedent's proportional interest in the account as a probate asset subject to the will and court oversight.
- If the surviving joint account holder has already withdrawn funds that belong to the estate, documenting this and seeking appropriate legal guidance promptly.
If you are a beneficiary under a will — and you believe a joint account that has been claimed by a surviving joint holder should have passed through the estate — you have standing to raise the issue in probate court. The question is a factual one: do the account documents include a signed survivorship agreement? If they do not, § 113.155 places that account interest in the estate.
Does a Will Ever Control a Joint Account?
Yes — when the conditions above apply. A will controls the distribution of a deceased person's probate estate. When a joint account passes through the estate because no valid survivorship agreement exists, the will determines who receives the decedent's share of that account. A joint account that does carry a valid survivorship agreement passes outside the will, directly to the surviving account holder, and the will is irrelevant to it.
This is the symmetry that § 113.151 creates. A properly executed survivorship agreement defeats the will. A missing or invalid survivorship agreement leaves the will in control. The account label — "joint" or "JTWROS" or "Joint Tenants" — does not decide the question. The paperwork does.
In the Castillo family's case, the probate court ultimately ordered the $147,000 account divided equally among all three children, consistent with Robert's will. The estate was handled correctly, though not without friction. Daniel, who had expected to inherit the full balance, received one-third. Elena and Marcus, who had expected nothing from the account, received the shares Robert's will had always intended for them.
Next Steps for Texas Families
If you are the surviving co-owner of a joint account, or if you are administering an estate that includes jointly held accounts, a WG Law probate attorney can review the underlying account documents and give you a clear assessment of whether survivorship rights exist under Texas Estates Code § 113.151.
WG Law's probate team offers a free probate case review — a quick intake review to help you understand where you stand before spending anything on litigation. Therese Gutierrez and Philip Burgess handle probate administration and contested estate matters throughout Collin County and the greater DFW area, including McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Allen, and Southlake.
Call 214-250-4407 or request your free probate case review online. For related reading, see our guides on the joint bank account trap in Texas estate planning, what probate costs in Texas, who pays attorney fees in a Texas will contest, and WG Law's probate practice. You can also visit our Plano service area page and our McKinney service area page.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Texas probate law is complex, and every estate situation is different. Contact a licensed Texas probate attorney for guidance specific to your circumstances.