There are many ways to own your assets. When you die, it is only natural that you want your family to share in the bounty of your hard work. As a way to simplify the transfer process and avoid probate, you may be tempted to add a child or other relative to the deed or bank account utilizing the ownership type of joint tenancy with right of survivorship (JTwROS). However, while this type of ownership delivers a lot of potential benefits, it may also be masking some dangerous pitfalls.
Under JTwROS, when one owner dies, the other owner(s) inherit the deceased owner’s share of the property proportionately.Take note that the words “with right of survivorship” do not need to be explicitly spelled out because the survivorship right is automatic with joint tenancy, unlike other forms of ownership types, such as tenants in common. With JTwROS, its benefits are specific: ownership is transferred automatically without entering probate. Because the property is transferred outside of probate, it is possible to keep this inheritance out of the clutches of creditors of your estate. On the surface, this seems like a smart way to streamline the inheritance process, sidestep creditor baggage, and bureaucratic charges. But the risks may outweigh the benefits.
You May Pay the Price
One of the main problems with JTwROS is that when you enter into this kind of agreement, you open yourself up to additional liability. When you agree to a JTwROS, you put your assets on the hook for the other owners’ creditors, ex-spouses and flights of fancy.
Another problem with JTwROS, as it relates to real estate, is that there are now multiple owners of the property. You must now get the approval of the other owners if you would like to mortgage, refinance, transfer, or sell the property. It does not matter if you are the only one who is occupying the property or paying the expenses, by adding additional people as owners, you are giving away control.
With respect to any bank accounts, once you add an additional owner, that individual, as an owner, has the right to go to the bank and withdraw whatever money is in the account. The bank is merely going to make sure that the individual is listed on the account and will freely turn over your money to him or her. If a joint owner’s creditor serves the bank with a garnishment order, they can also seize the money in the account, even if the joint owner was only added to help avoid probate.
In my years of practice, I have seen in countless situations where an adult child is added to a parent’s bank account as a joint tenant in order to “make things easier” at death. In too many of those situations, it is discovered later that the adult child was secretly withdrawing money and frequently making purchases for his/her own benefit, even though that person was only added to the account to assist parent and avoid probate. When the parent finally realizes the value of proper estate planning and then discovers the financial abuse, it almost always creates family conflict and difficulty because the adult child does not want to lose control of those assets and becomes a roadblock for the parent to complete their estate planning properly.
Disinheriting Loved Ones
While JTwROS can have some impacts on you, it can also disrupt your estate plans because instead of property getting handed down, it’s handed over. For example, if someone with children remarries and a new spouse is added to the deed as a joint tenant, that new spouse will inherit the property, not the kids or grandkids. Because there’s a new spouse involved, the new spouse’s family will then be the ones to inherit upon his or her death, leaving the whole ‘branch’ of the original family may be disinherited—and not always intentionally!
Questions? Give Me a Call
Although there are some advantages to a JTwROS, don’t let simplicity or speed be your only measures. Give me a call so we can discussing all of your options and tailor a solution that will best fit your needs.
As a Personal Family Lawyer®, I offer expert advice on Wills, Trusts, and numerous other estate planning vehicles. Using proprietary systems, such as my Family Wealth Inventory and Assessment™ and Family Wealth Planning Session™, I’ll carefully analyze your assets—both tangible and intangible—to help you come up with an estate planning solution that offers maximum protection for your family’s particular situation and budget. Contact me today to get started.
This article is a service of Tara Cheever, Personal Family Lawyer®. I don’t just draft documents; I ensure you make informed and empowered decisions about life and death, for yourself and the people you love. That’s why I offer a Family Wealth Planning Session™ during which you will get more financially organized than you’ve ever been before, and make all the best choices for the people you love. You can begin by calling my office today to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session and mention this article to find out how to get this $750 session at no charge.