Taking $ From Florida Bank Accounts: is it conversion or ok?

Bank account litigation in Florida has become almost a sub-specialty within the practice of law.  People litigate about what type of account was created: was it a joint account with a right of survivorship?  Was it a convenience account that “goes” to the estate of the Florida bank account owner?  Was it opened in the name of a Florida trust which means that it doesn’t become part of the estate of the owner when the Florida owner dies, but rather it is part of the Florida trust property.  And what about all those names on the bank account statement? The ones that appear on the first page next the name of the person who opened or created the Florida bank account…… What property rights do those individuals have to the Florida bank account, if any?  Can they withdraw funds and write checks?  In Florida, if you have permission of the owner to take money from a bank account which you did not contribute any money to, that’s a gift and it’s OK.  If you don’t have permission of the owner to take money, but the owner later learns you took the money and “OK’s” it or doesn’t do anything about it, you may be OK.  But if your name is merely “put” on a bank account –you didn’t open or create the account — and you try to take or withdraw more than what you contributed to the account, that’s the tort of conversion.  Many times, an individual creates a Florida bank account by contributing all the money to that account, but also places someone’s name on it.  It may be for convenience or it may be a right of survivorship–a future or incomplete gift.   That does not necessarily mean that that person is an owner.  If that person withdraws money without the Florida bank account owner’s permission, the person withdrawing the money has committed the wrongful act of conversion and will have to return the withdrawn funds plus interest.