Boomers always have the best financial advice, don’t they? 🫡 Thanks to them, we’ve saved up $1,483,039 for a down payment, all because we stopped our weekly Starbucks run! Follow us for more Boomer delusions. 👍
If your parents become mentally incapable of handling their finances, opening up a joint bank account with them has a lot of benefits. Check out this guide to see if you should make the move. 🤠
Here’s Five Fast Facts on sharing a joint bank account with aging parents:
- 🤔 Forget Me Not - Dementia is on the rise and it’s a real doozy. Right now, an estimated six million Americans age 65 and up have Alzheimer’s. These conditions make it hard for people to keep up with their bills and personal finance tasks, like monitoring accounts for sketchy activity.
- 💸 Pass That Joint - To help an aging loved one, a joint bank account may be your best bet. With your access to the account, you can keep an eye out for suspicious activity and set up automatic bill payments. You’ll also get twice as much protection from the FDIC ($500,000 of deposit insurance instead of $250,000).
- 💰 On the Hook - Keep in mind that because your name’s on the account, you’re also responsible for paying fees and replenishing the account in the event of an overdraft. If you’re thinking of adding anyone else onto the account (like siblings), make sure they’re trustworthy. Anyone with access to the joint account can tap it for funds without anyone else’s permission.
- 🏛️ Let’s Do It - In many cases, banks will let you hop on a parent’s existing account to convert it into a shared one. If you choose to open a brand new account, prepare to show the bank a government-issued ID and proof of address. If your parents are mentally unfit or can’t apply in person, you might be able to take care of everything online.
- 📝 Power Hour - If your parents don’t like the idea of sharing a bank account, see if they’re at least open to giving you power of attorney. When you’re the power of attorney, you’ll be able to handle their finances if they fall ill or become incapacitated.
🔥Bottom line: Watching your parents get old is never fun. However, with a joint bank account, you can help them keep their finances in tip top shape through their golden years. Could you get put in retirement jail for making too much money? In this article, we get into how going back to work can impact a retiree’s plans.
Do you have a joint bank account with your parents?
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