What happens when one of the account holders dies?

When one of the holders of a joint account dies, the account in question is frozen by the caisse. It cannot be accessed until the estate has been settled-which may take weeks or even months.

The caisse does this for the following reasons:

• By virtue of an agreement on the management of joint accounts, no financial institution may legally allocate funds at the time of the death. Only the will or marriage contract allows for "a gift mortis causa" (a gift made in contemplation of death).
• In any case, as the caisse does not want to get involved in the affairs of its customers, it does not know who put what into the account. It does not know the proportion of co-ownership of the sums deposited, which is why it cannot unfreeze these amounts until the liquidator of the estate and the surviving co-holder have reached an agreement.

Consequently, it is prudent to first deposit sums in a personal account, and then subsequently directly transfer them into the joint account. Then, if a co-holder passes away, the surviving co-holder need only stop all transfers immediately to ensure the money stays in his or her personal account.