§ 7-1-813 - Rights of survivorship
O.C.G.A. 7-1-813 (2010)
7-1-813. Rights of survivorship
(a) Sums remaining on deposit at the death of a party to a joint account belong to the surviving party or parties as against the estate of the decedent, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a different intention at the time the account is created. If there are two or more surviving parties, the respective ownership of each during his lifetime shall be in proportion to his previous ownership interests under Code Section 7-1-812, augmented by an equal share for each survivor of any interest the decedent may have owned in the account immediately before his death; and the right of survivorship continues between the surviving parties.
(b) If the account is a P.O.D. account, on death of the original payee or of the survivor of two or more original payees, any sums remaining on deposit belong to the P.O.D. payee or to the P.O.D. payees in equal portions if surviving or to the survivor of them if one or more die before the original payee; if two or more P.O.D. payees survive, there is no right of survivorship in event of death of a P.O.D. payee thereafter unless the terms of the account or deposit agreement expressly provide for survivorship between them.
(c) If the account is a trust account, on the death of the trustee or the survivor of two or more trustees, any sums remaining on deposit belong to such person or persons named as beneficiaries who survive the death of the trustee or the survivor of two or more trustees, unless there is clear and convincing evidence of a contrary intent. If two or more beneficiaries survive:
(1) They receive equal portions of the sums contained in the trust account; and
(2) There is no right of survivorship in event of death of any beneficiary thereafter unless the terms of the account or deposit agreement expressly provide for survivorship between them.
(d) In other cases, the death of any party to a multiple-party account has no effect on beneficial ownership of the account other than to transfer the rights of the decedent as part of his estate.
(e) A right of survivorship arising from the express terms of the account or under this Code section, a beneficiary designation in a trust account, or a P.O.D. payee designation cannot be changed by will.