What you should know about joint accounts

Find out some of the important considerations when choosing joint accounts.

08:23 07 October 2013

You may not have considered a joint account for your bank account, but there are still situations, which may work better with a joint account. Partners, couples, friends, colleagues or similar groupings can benefit from a joint account.

Here are some points to consider before you determine if a joint account is the best account for you. Why not have a look through the below and see if any of the advice appeals to your current situation?

• Joint accounts make managing a pool of money a lot easier, and give you the ability to track the purchases and reconcile the account. If the alternative would be trying to juggle multiple accounts, a joint account can make life easier.

 

• For anything which is a joint expense, a joint account should be used. This ensures that everyone responsible for the expense is also represented on the account.

 

• A joint account does not need to be the only bank account you have, you can also choose to have your own individual account for separate expenses.

 

• The credit rating of all individuals involved on the bank account reflects on the others, so you will want to make sure that you trust the people listed on a joint account.

 

• If someone makes a mistake on the bank account and causes an overdraft or other serious occurrence, all people listed would be held responsible to come up with the necessary amount or to resolve the issue.

 

• Certain restrictions may require that all parties listed on the account are needed before a payment is made. This is excellent for bookkeeping, but depending on the use of the account could prove impractical.

 

• If you pass away and there is a credit on the account, the other people listed on the account would be given the remaining money.

 

• Banks can take money from an individual bank account to pay necessary funds into the joint account if there is an overdraft or other circumstance.