Under Illinois law, the surviving joint tenant of a bank account becomes the sole owner of the account upon the death of one of the joint tenants. Unless the surviving joint tenant agrees to share equally with his or her siblings, the other children will need to go to court in order to prove that the account was set up in joint tenancy as a convenience. The presumption is against such a finding, but it is rebutted upon clear and convincing evidence, which is tantamount to the criminal standard of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
