Hi,
First, sorry for your loss.
Typically, if you were the sole joint owner with your mom with your mom and your dies, you become the owner of the assets. Of course, this is a legal question, and it's best you refer to an attorney for a final answer on ownership, but this article may also help.
While you may think of the funds in the account your formally owned with your mom as passing as part of probate, the above article puts it clearly: "Joint bank account holders generally have the right of survivorship, which grants the surviving account holder ownership of the entire account balance. The surviving account holder retains ownership regardless of which owner contributed the money, and the account doesn't go through the probate process." However, it sounds like you are trying to honor your mom's wishes (rather than the legalities) and split the money 4 ways.
If that split results in more than $17K going to any one person (not your spouse) in tax year 2023, you would generally need to file a gift tax return. While you have to file the gift tax return if you meet the filing requirements, the Federal gift tax itself only kicks in after lifetime gifts exceed $12.92 million in 2023.
You can give multiple gifts of up to $17K to each person in a taxable year without the need to file a gift tax return. It is also possible to give $17K in 2023 and up to $18K in 2024 (and more in successive years) to a single individual without triggering the need for a gift tax return.
Hope this helps. Let us know if you have further questions.
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Regards,
Karen
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