• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Parman & Easterday

Oklahoma Estate Planning Attorneys

Call Now: (405) 843-6100 |
(918) 615-2700

Attend an Education Program-Oklahoma City Area Attend An Education Program in the Tulsa Area
  • Home
  • Our Firm
    • About Our Firm
    • Attorney and Staff Profiles
    • What Our Clients Say
  • Estate Planning
    • Asset Protection
    • Business Succession Planning
    • Estate and Gift Tax Figures
    • Estate Planning Services
    • Family-Owned Businesses & Farms
    • Financial Planning Assistance
    • IRA and Retirement Planning
    • Legacy Planning
    • LGBTQ Estate Planning
    • Pet Planning
    • Powers of Attorney
    • Probate
    • SECURE Act
    • Special Needs Planning
    • Trust Administration and Probate
    • Young Families
  • Elder Law
    • Coping With Alzheimer’s
    • Elder Law
    • Emergency Medicaid
    • Guardianship & Conservatorship
    • Hospice Care
    • Medicaid Planning
    • Veteran’s Benefits
  • Resources
    • Asset Protection Worksheet
    • DocuBank
    • Elder Law
      • Elder Law & Medicaid Definitions
      • Elder Law Reports
      • Elder Law Resources
        • Edmond Elder Law
        • Oklahoma City Elder Law
        • Overland Park Elder Law
        • Yukon Elder Law
      • Medicaid
      • Nursing Home Resources
    • Estate Planning
      • An Overview of Estate and Gift Taxes
      • Estate Planning Checkup
      • Estate Planning Definitions
      • Estate Planning Reports
        • Advanced Estate Planning
        • Basic Estate Planning
        • Estate Planning for Niches
        • Trust Administration
      • Incapacity Planning Definitions
      • Is Your Estate Plan Outdated?
      • Top 10 Estate and Legacy Planning Techniques
    • Free Estate Planning Worksheet
    • Frequently Asked Questions
      • Alzheimer’s FAQs
      • Asset Protection Planning
      • Estate Planning
      • Elder Law
      • Frequently Asked Questions for Families Without an Estate Plan
      • Inheritance Planning for Minors
      • Legacy Wealth Planning
      • LGBTQ Estate Planning
      • Medicaid Planning
      • Nursing Home Asset Protection
      • Probate
      • Trust Administration
      • Trust Administration & Probate
      • Wills and Trusts
    • Newsletters
    • Probate and Trust Administration
      • Bereavement Resources
      • How to Know if You Need Extra Help With Your Grieving
      • Loss of a Loved One
      • Probate Checklist
      • The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Trust
      • Things You Need To Do When a Loved One Passes Away With a Will
      • Trust Administration & Probate Definitions
    • Probate Resources
      • Midwest City Probate
      • Moore Probate
      • Oklahoma City Probate
      • Overland Park Probate
    • Published Books
    • Pre Consultation Form
  • Communities We Serve
    • Edmond
    • Midwest City
    • Moore
    • Norman
    • Oklahoma City
    • Yukon
  • Reviews
    • Our Reviews
    • Review Us
  • BLOG
  • Contact Us
Home » Uncategorized » Can a Joint Account Avoid Probate?

Can a Joint Account Avoid Probate?

December 8, 2010 by Larry Parman, Attorney at Law

A joint account is one way to leave funds to your family after you pass away. This type of account can usually avoid probate. Beware, however, there are some downsides to using a joint account to pass on an inheritance.

How

If you have a joint account “with rights of survivorship” when you pass away, the other owners of your account will receive all funds. Full ownership of the account can be achieved outside of probate, since the remaining account holder needs only to produce a death certificate to give to the financial institution.

Disadvantages

There are five potential pitfalls your joint account could face during the estate settlement process. First, if other owners on the account have not contributed funds when establishing the account or purchasing the asset, the monies could be seen as a gift. If the gift exceeds the annual gift exclusion amount – now $13,000 per person – it must be reported to the IRS.

Your joint account may also disinherit some heirs. If the asset is styled as joint tenancy with survivorship, only those joint tenants listed on the account receive the balance. Any family members not listed on the account will not receive any of those funds, even if you wished to include them. If those listed as joint tenant survivors choose to share funds with those not listed, they must be aware of gift tax reporting requirement if the “gift back” to others exceeds the annual gift exclusion..

Once you add another person to an account or put their names on the title of property, those assets are at risk. If your joint owner has a creditor judgment, a lien may be placed upon your account or on the title to your property. You will either have to pay the lien or forfeit some or all of those funds.

Next, if you add someone to the deed to your real estate as a joint tenant, you must get them to agree to any transfer or sale of that property. Worse, if the joint tenant is married, their spouse must also approve the sale or transfer in most states. If that joint tenant is going through a divorce or is facing other issues, this could delay closing, even cause you to lose the sale.

Finally, if you share an account with a minor, he or she cannot inherit the account until adulthood. In the meantime, a court-supervised guardian will have control of those funds for your child’s benefit. A guardianship may rob your children of some of their inheritance for legal fees.

A far superior alternative is to consider using a revocable trust. When created and used properly, you will avoid many of these problems.

Larry Parman
Attorney at Law

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Larry Parman, Attorney at Law
Larry Parman, Attorney at Law
Founder and Owner at Parman & Easterday
After helping his own family deal with a lengthy probate and the IRS following his father’s untimely death in a farm accident, Larry Parman made a decision to help families create effective estate plans designed to reduce taxes, minimize legal interference with the transfer of assets to one’s heirs, and protect his clients’ assets from predators and creditors.
Larry Parman, Attorney at Law
Latest posts by Larry Parman, Attorney at Law (see all)
  • Estate Administration 101 - February 2, 2023
  • Why Do You Need an Elder Law Attorney? - January 31, 2023
  • Inheritance Planning for Blended Families - January 26, 2023

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: disablity planning, Supplemental Trusts, Veterans Benefisits Planning

Other Articles You May Find Useful

estate planning
Don’t Overcomplicate the Estate Planning Process
Young Family
Will Your Estate Plan Still Work If You Move?
Parman & Easterday
Priceless Lesson from a 43-Year-Old Index Card
Making Use of a Letter of Instruction
Making Use of a Letter of Instruction
Larry Parman Interview
Larry Parman’s Brother, A Medical Doctor, Survives COVID-19 and Shares Important Lessons Learned in This Interview
Larry Parman Attorney at Law
Estate Planning 101: Founding Attorney, Larry Parman, Explains What Stuff Your Estate Consists of Exactly

Primary Sidebar

Parman & Easterday, LLP

DOWNLOAD OUR FREE ESTATE PLANNING CHECKLIST

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR BLOG

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Where We Are

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
13913 Quail Pointe Drive, Suite B
Oklahoma City, OK 73134
Phone: (405) 843-6100
Fax: (405) 917-7018

MAP

parman_sidbr_map

Where We Are

TULSA, OK
Memorial Place 7633 E. 63rd Place
Tulsa, OK 74133
Phone: (918) 615-2700

MAP

parman_sidbr_map

Office Hours

Monday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Tuesday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Wednesday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Thursday9:00 AM - 5:30 PM
Friday9:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Footer

footer-logo

The information on this Oklahoma Law Firm website is for general information purposes only. Nothing on this or associated pages, documents, comments, answers, emails, or other communications should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. This information on this website is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing of this information does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship.

Oklahoma City Estate Planning Attorneys at Parman & Easterday offer estate planning services in the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and surrounding areas. Contact us for help today.

Privacy Policy | Contact Us | Disclaimer | Site Map | Powered by American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys


© 2023 American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube