You could add them as an agent under a power of attorney or add them as a designated beneficiary to that account and that is something different; but making a child a joint owner on a bank account is almost never a good idea.
A Better and Safer Option. A better and safer option is to add your child as the Power of Attorney (POA) to handle your financial affairs. With a power of attorney, you remain the owner of the account while the adult child acts as the agent to make financial decisions on your behalf.
As your parents age, it may seem like a good idea to add your name to all of their bank accounts. In the event of unexpected incapacity or death, then, the bank accounts would not need to go through probate; the accounts would simply become your sole property.
Gift Tax. As of 2011, you can make a gift of up to $13,000 per year to your child without incurring gift taxes. As this applies to joint bank accounts. If you add an adult child's name to your bank account, the child's withdrawals from the account may be considered gifts.
As the co-owner of a joint bank account, an adult child has the same privileges as the parent. With that access, the child can: Help the parent identify fraudulent activity on the account. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau estimates financial exploitation costs older Americans $2.9 billion each year.
The IRS suggests signature authority, which allows an adult child access to their aging parent's bank account. They can use it to pay bills and make purchases as long as they're in the loved one's interest. Your local bank branch can set this up easily with both signatures.
Most joint bank accounts include automatic rights of survivorship, which means that after one account signer dies, the remaining signer (or signers) retain ownership of the money in the account. The surviving primary account owner can continue using the account, and the money in it, without any interruptions.
If you and a parent have a joint bank account, that means you both are owners of the account. Your parent could add you as a joint owner to an existing account or you could open a new account together. Regardless of the approach you use, you both will have full access to the cash in the account.
Even if the parent has made a Will that stipulates that the money in the joint bank account should be shared among three children, the child who is co-owner of the account is perfectly entitled to keep it all. If they do, disputes among your children are sure to happen.
A checking or savings account (referred to as a deceased account after the owner's death) is handled according to the deceased's will. If no will was made, the deceased's account will have to go through probate.
Minor children by law can't open a savings account. They need a parent or guardian to set up a custodial or joint account. A custodial account is the property of the child, but managed by the parent until the child turns 18.
The primary cardholder is the main person on the account. They are also known as the borrower. The secondary cardholder is the co-borrower on the account. One would be considered the primary and the other would be the secondary.
Typically, only two people are allowed to be named in a bank account: the primary owner and a joint owner. What parents usually do is list one of their children as the joint owner of the account. This person will get all the assets when the primary owner dies.
The big benefit of naming a bank account beneficiary is that it allows the funds in the account to bypass the probate process after you die. Unless a beneficiary is named, any money in your checking or savings account will become part of your estate after you're deceased.
Some of your financial assets need to be owned by your trust and others need to name your trust as the beneficiary. With your day-to-day checking and savings accounts, I always recommend that you own those accounts in the name of your trust.
Joint bank accounts
If one dies, all the money will go to the surviving partner without the need for probate or letters of administration. The bank may need the see the death certificate in order to transfer the money to the other joint owner.
Can a Joint Checking Account Affect Credit? Checking account balances don't appear on your credit report and checking accounts do not directly factor into your credit score. So, unless your joint account results in missed payments or unpaid debts, keeping a joint account won't affect your credit.
Now there are different ways to add a child. You could add them as an agent under a power of attorney or add them as a designated beneficiary to that account and that is something different; but making a child a joint owner on a bank account is almost never a good idea.
All owners of a joint account pay taxes on it. If the joint account earns interest, you may be held liable for the income produced on the account in proportion to your ownership share. Also any withdrawals exceeding $14,000 per year by a joint account holder (other than your spouse) may be treated as a gift by the IRS.
Inheritance tax due on death which is attributable to the funds in a joint account is payable by the surviving account holder who has inherited funds by survivorship (rather than necessarily from the deceased's estate), unless there is wording to the contrary in any will made by the deceased.
In almost all situations, a traditional bank, credit union, or investment company will not open a kid's savings account without the presence and signature of a parent or legal guardian. That's because minors cannot legally consent and sign the bank's agreements.
It depends on the account agreement and state law. Broadly speaking, if the account has what is termed the “right of survivorship,” all the funds pass directly to the surviving owner. If not, the share of the account belonging to the deceased owner is distributed through his or her estate.
Children - if there is a surviving partner
All the children of the parent who has died intestate inherit equally from the estate. This also applies where a parent has children from different relationships.