What is the test for determining whether a joint account is held in trust for the estate of a deceased joint account holder?

Pecore v. Pecore, 2007 SCC 17 sets out the guiding principles for determining whether a joint account, upon the death of one of the joint account holders, passes to the surviving joint account holder by the right of survivorship or is held in trust for the estate. In the case of a parent who transfers assets, without consideration, into a joint account held with one of her adult children, there is a presumption of resulting trust (see para. 40). Where evidence of the transferor’s intention, at the time of transfer, is unavailable or unpersuasive, the presumption will apply (see para. 23). The onus is on the transferee to rebut the presumption and establish, on a balance of probabilities, that a gift was intended (see para. 24). The court may look to the following non-exhaustive list of evidence to determine a transferor’s intention (see paras. 55 to 70): a) evidence subsequent to the transfer provided that it is relevant to the transferor’s intention at the time of transfer; b) banking documents that detail intentions of the transferor regarding how the balance of the funds should be treated upon her death; c) granting of a power of attorney may demonstrate that the transferor intended to gift the monies in the joint account; and d) tax treatment of the joint accounts.