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For many years, I’ve gotten questions like this:
My mom is 82 and wants to add my name to her checking account so I can pay her bills. My brother says that’s a terrible idea. Who’s right?
This note comes from a woman we’ll call Susan, and her brother is Mike.
I’ve been a CPA since 1981, and I served as executor of my own parents’ estate. So I’ll tell Susan what I’d tell anyone: Mike has a point.
Adding a child as a joint owner feels like the simplest fix in the world. But the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau notes that money in a joint account is jointly owned, and “the joint account holder automatically gets the money when you die.” (1)
Maryland’s financial regulator adds that joint owners “will have full access to the account and may act alone to make withdrawals or deposits.” (2)
And when older adults’ money is stolen, the thief is often family. A 2024 analysis by the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network found that “adult children were the most frequent elder theft-related perpetrators.” (3)
Susan isn’t a thief. But the setup matters, for her mom, for her brother and for her. Here are five things to know before anyone signs a bank form.
1. A joint owner owns the money
This is the part many families miss. Adding Susan as a joint owner doesn’t just let her pay bills. It makes the money hers, too.
As Maryland’s Office of Financial Regulation puts it, each joint owner can act alone to make withdrawals. (2) That’s fine as long as everyone trusts each other.
Maryland’s regulator flags another risk: A joint owner’s creditors may be able to claim the money. If you worry that a relative’s creditors (for unpaid loans, taxes, child support and the like) could go after your account, it says, don’t add that relative as an owner. (2)
That means Susan’s own debts could put Mom’s money at risk.
2. It can quietly cut a sibling out
Here’s what worries me most for Mike.
Under a standard joint account, when an owner dies, “the funds in the account will belong to the surviving owner or owners named on the account.” (2)
That means the money can pass straight to Susan, outside Mom’s will. If Mom meant for her kids to split everything equally, a joint account can undo that with a signature at the bank.
3. The safer fix: a convenience signer
Some banks offer an alternative designed for exactly Susan’s situation.
The CFPB describes a “convenience account” or “agency account” that lets you name someone to help you deposit or withdraw money. It “does not change the ownership of the money in the account.” (1)
Maryland’s regulator says the same about convenience persons and agents under a power of attorney: they “will have access to the account, but only to act on your behalf and in your best interests.” (2) Susan can pay the bills. The money stays Mom’s.
Ask Mom’s bank what it offers. Names and rules vary.
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4. The bigger fix: a financial power of attorney
A convenience signer covers one account. A financial power of attorney can cover much more.
The CFPB describes a power of attorney as “a legal document that gives someone else legal authority to make decisions about your money or property.” (1) If Mom wants it to keep working if she someday can’t manage her own affairs, ask about a durable power of attorney.
My advice: Do it while Mom can still sign it herself.
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5. Name beneficiaries the right way
If Mom’s real goal is to make sure the money passes smoothly when she dies, there’s a cleaner tool than joint ownership: a payable-on-death beneficiary.
Maryland’s regulator explains that “P.O.D. payees and beneficiaries have no rights in the account while the owner is alive.” (2) Mom keeps full control. When she dies, the money goes to the people she named, and she can name both of her kids.
If Mom has savings and investments spread around, make sure all those designations line up with her will.
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One additional idea: Once Susan is paying Mom’s bills online, she’ll be the first to see the scam texts and phishing emails aimed at Mom.
Get rid of them before Mom succumbs to a scammer.
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My honest take
Susan’s heart is in the right place, and so is Mike’s. The good news is that they don’t have to choose between helping Mom and protecting the family.
Have one family conversation, with both kids in the room. Agree on who pays the bills, how it’s tracked and what happens to the money later. Then put it in writing.
A bank form takes a few minutes to sign. Make sure it’s the right one.
Sources: 1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; 2. Maryland Office of Financial Regulation; 3. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network
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