§ 9-B §427 — Deposit or account transactions

1.
Minor's deposits or accounts.
Money may be deposited by or in the name of a minor and is the minor's property, and a financial institution shall pay the same to such minor, to the minor's order or to a joint owner of the account. The receipt of any such payment by the minor is a valid release and discharges the institution. A minor may endorse and deposit to the credit of the minor's account checks and other instruments for the payment of money. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, in all transactions with respect to a minor's account that does not have a joint owner of majority age, a minor is deemed to be the owner of the account and of legal age and capacity.
2.
Fiduciary deposits or accounts.
3.
Fiduciary transactions by check.
4.
Joint deposits or accounts.
5.
Pledge of joint deposits or accounts.
The pledge of all or part of a deposit or account in joint tenancy signed by that person or those persons who are authorized in writing to make withdrawals from the deposit or account shall, unless the terms of the deposit or account provide specifically to the contrary, be a valid pledge and transfer of that part of the deposit or account pledged, and shall not operate to sever or terminate the joint and survivorship ownership of all or any part of the deposit or account.
6.
Power of attorney over deposits or accounts.
A financial institution may continue to recognize the authority of an attorney authorized in writing to manage or to make withdrawals either in whole or in part from the account of a depositor until it receives written notice of the revocation of the attorney's authority. For the purposes of this subsection, written notice of the death or adjudication of incompetency of the depositor constitutes written notice of revocation of the authority of the depositor's attorney. An institution is not liable for damages by reason of any payment made pursuant to this subsection.
7.
Transfer of deposit or account.
A depositor may transfer, absolutely or conditionally, that depositor's deposit or account to any other person, subject to any provisions affecting such deposit or account pursuant to this chapter by a written assignment in a form approved by the institution, accompanied by delivery of the evidence of the deposit or account. Evidence of the deposit or account means the membership certificate, share certificate, account book, passbook or any other evidence of the deposit or account that has been issued in connection with such deposit or account. Every such transfer of a deposit or account is considered to include the deposit or account and the evidence of the deposit or account issued in connection with the deposit or account. An absolute transfer is not effective against an institution until such written assignment and the accompanying evidence of the deposit or account are delivered to the institution with a request that it complete such transfer upon its records. A conditional transfer is not effective against an institution unless and until it actually receives notice of the conditional transfer in writing.
8.
Payment of decedent's deposit or account.
9.
Lost evidences of deposits or accounts.
10.
Adverse claim to deposit or account.
Except as provided in Title 11, section 4‑405, in Title 14, section 4751 and in Title 18‑C, sections 6‑102 and 6‑226, notice to a financial institution authorized to do business in this State of an adverse claim to a deposit or account standing on its books to the credit of any person is not effectual to cause that institution to recognize the adverse claimant, unless the adverse claimant either procures a restraining order, injunction or other appropriate process against the institution from a court of competent jurisdiction in a civil action to which the person to whose credit the deposit or account stands is made a party or executes to that institution, in a form and with sureties acceptable to the institution, a bond indemnifying the institution from all liability, loss, damage, costs and expenses for and on account of the payment of such adverse claim or the dishonor of checks or other orders of the person to whose credit the deposit or account stands on the books of the institution.
11.
Payment of orders.
Any financial institution may pay any order drawn by any person who has funds on deposit to meet the same, notwithstanding the death of the drawer in the interval of time between signing such order and its presentation for payment, when said presentation is made within 30 days after the date of such order; and at any subsequent period, provided the institution has not received actual notice of the death of the drawer.
12.
Superintendent's authority to permit withdrawals.
Except as expressly limited by other provisions of this Title, the superintendent may authorize a financial institution or institutions to permit the withdrawal of funds on deposit by depositors, account holders or members of said institution or institutions, in such manner or by such methods as the superintendent may determine appropriate under the circumstances.
13.
Notice on opening certain accounts.
13-A.
Notice on opening certain accounts.
At the time a multiple-party account, as defined in Title 18‑C, section 6‑201, subsection 5, is established or at the time a single-party account is converted to a multiple-party account with a financial institution, the document establishing the account or adding another party must include for each party to the account the question, "Do you intend for the sum remaining upon your death to belong to the surviving party or parties? Yes or No." The question required by this subsection must be answered in writing on the form by each party to the account prior to opening the account. The answer provided on the form required by this subsection does not have any effect on any legal presumption or inference available in any civil or criminal matter.
14.
Applicability.
This section applies to financial institutions authorized to do business in this State and credit unions authorized to do business in this State.

Legislative History

PL 1975, c. 500, §1 (NEW). PL 1975, c. 571, §1 (AMD). PL 1975, c. 733, §1 (AMD). PL 1975, c. 770, §51 (AMD). PL 1979, c. 540, §§8-13-A (AMD). PL 1979, c. 663, §41 (AMD). PL 1987, c. 402, §A87 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 628, §23 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 218, §20 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 211, §§11,12 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 322, §15 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 88, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 390, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. C, §§18-23 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 402, Pt. F, §1 (AFF). PL 2019, c. 1, §§1, 2 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 1, §5 (AFF). PL 2019, c. 417, Pt. B, §14 (AFF). PL 2021, c. 5, §2 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 42, §1 (AMD). RR 2025, c. 1, Pt. D, §§28-33 (COR).