Joint Account

Joint account

An agreement between two or more firms to share risk and financing responsibility in purchasing or underwriting securities, or an account owned jointly by two or more persons at a bank or brokerage house.

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Joint Account

An account at a bank or a brokerage where there are two or more account holders. The holders of a joint account share all rights and responsibilities regarding the account. That is, one may deposit or withdraw money from a joint account without the consent of the other and both may be held liable for an overdraft or loss. Joint accounts are most common for married couples.

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joint account

A brokerage account in which two or more individuals hold joint interests. Joint accounts may be established in a number of different forms that produce very different results. Compare individual account. See also partnership account.

Is a joint account preferable for investing couples?

Joint ownership occurs when more than one person has rights and privileges to an account. It is practical to invest jointly in many situations, as access or availability of the assets occurs almost immediately upon death of either of the parties. By law, ownership passes directly to the surviving joint owner, even if a will states otherwise. However, for larger estates (over $1 million), other forms of ownership may be preferred. Proper estate planning to lower estate taxes or to transfer assets to trusts rather than to an individual would call for assets to be moved out of joint ownership.

Jeffrey S. Levine, CPA, MST, Alkon & Levine, PC, Newton, MA