I think I heard Clark recently mention a Payable Upon Death declaration through one’s bank to help keep things simpler when we die. Can I assume this isn’t necessary if all of my bank accounts are joint accounts with my wife (who I do want to take over)? I didn’t hear the segment clearly so maybe I’m getting this overly confused. Anyone care to clarify what this is about?
I have one on my checking account for my daughter, who is not a signer on the account. so that she could access my account after I pass. If you wife is a joint signer on the account, the money and access to the account doesn’t change. I did it after my sister passed away - nobody could access her bank account
When my partner passed away we had joint accounts in Indiana but we lived in Michigan(near the state line). When she passed I was told by the bank that they had to freeze the accounts. I freaked out as I needed to access them to pay my bills. It was only corrected when they realized that this only applied if I was an Indiana resident.
When my sister passed away several years ago, she had my other sister as joint owner. It was pretty simply to transfer the account to her. Payable on Death has the same effect (I believe as Executor of my brother’s estate experience). But these days banks have “estate divisions” of the bank that handle those matters, so it may be more involved. There is a lot more paperwork.
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As @kcflyer indicated, when one of the joint account holder dies, the account remains with the remaining living account holder. You and your spouse however need to fill out a beneficiary form to designate who gets the account when both of your die. The pay upon death is the term used for the account passing to the beneficiary / beneficiaries.
I suggest it is reasonable to seek better advice than from forum strangers. Maybe even a shyster. You want first and foremost to keep it out of probate. Whether joint is good enough or POD works better is the question.
The issue of a joint account getting slammed is real. Survivor with rights needs to grab as much as possible before notifying banksters who may not be friendly.
all of my assets, including my home are POD sometimes called Beneficiary on death. If i put this in joint accounts, and someone gets sued, it will come out of the joint account. This way, the beneficiary presents my death certificate and the accounts and house immediately go to them, and they do not notify a lawyer. I still have a will for the things in the house which will to to a thrift shop.
Since kids are married, anything inherited do not have to be shared with spouse. If i wanted to really iwanted more specific use of funds, i have considered getting a Revocable trust. There are some online instructions that sound like it is easy.
My parents wanted either my brother or me to be able to access their accounts or pay bills in their interests. Because they lived in one state, my brother in another, and me in a third, they took him (first one to visit) to the bank to add him to the account. When they visited me a few months later, we went to the bank, and they tried to add me. Could not without his permission as he was now an account owner. Took a number of weeks to get his permission (notorized and sent through USPS since, at least then, no Chase banks in Kansas). I will say that both my brother and I knew that their account was THEIR money, regardless of account ownership. But Chase should have clarified if my parents intended power of attorney for accessing the account to the benefit of our parents or POD. Or both.