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Robert Kurre is well known for his free Elder Care & Estate Planning Educational Seminars, which take place throughout Long Island and New York City.To
Schedule Your Consultation, Please Call (516) 829-7900. Use Joint Bank Accounts With Caution By: Robert J. Kurre, Esq.
First, by adding a child’s name to the senior’s account, the funds become exposed to any claims that may exist against the child. For example, any of the child’s creditors may be able to reach the money. Second, the senior runs the risk that the joint owner of the account will withdraw money from the account and use it for unintended purposes as each owner of a joint account generally has full access to the funds. Third, the joint ownership of the account does not provide any protection for Medicaid purposes as the account is considered to be 100% the funds of the Medicaid applicant (i.e., the senior) unless documentation can be provided demonstrating that the child actually contributed to the account. Fourth, for estate tax purposes, when a parent and child jointly own a bank account, the funds are considered to be completely part of the taxable estate of the first joint owner to die except to the extent it can be documented that the surviving joint owner deposited funds into the account. Therefore, the funds could be included in the taxable estate of a predeceased child as it may be difficult to document that the account only contained the senior’s money. Fifth, this is a “hotspot” for litigation in that if all of the beneficiaries of the senior are not added to the account’s title as joint owners, there may be an unequal passing of assets to the beneficiaries. The one child whose name is on the joint bank account often argues that the senior intended that he or she would receive extra consideration due to the assistance that child provided.. The other children may argue that the senior wished to treat all the children equally and that the one child who was named as the joint owner should now share the proceeds of the account. To rely on beneficiaries to adjust a senior’s estate plan by re-distributing the proceeds of a joint bank account “fairly” is to risk not only costly litigation but also family disharmony. There are other techniques which are usually preferable to the use of joint bank accounts for elder law and estate planning purposes. A qualified elder law and estate planning can determine the most appropriate planning technique after a thorough review of your situation. Robert J. Kurre, Esq. devotes his practice to elder law, estate administration, guardianships, estate litigation, trust litigation, and planning for elderly and disabled clients. He is the managing attorney of Robert J. Kurre, & Associates, P.C., located in Great Neck, New York . Mr. Kurre was admitted to the practice of law in New York State in 1991. He is a former Chairman of the Elder law Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association. If you would like to schedule a consultation to discuss further, please contact the firm by call (516) 829-7900. The above information is intended as general information and is not meant to provide specific legal advice. Before engaging in any elder law or estate planning, the services of a qualified attorney should be obtained.
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