I'm attaching an article by Gail Bebee of www.morningstar.ca, which talks about joint accounts. My concern is always the estate planning consequences, but in this article Ms. Bebee covers other scenarios as well. Click here to read the article.
The article concludes with a quote from yours truly about the use of a power of attorney rather than adding a child as a joint owner to your account. I cannot say strongly enough that more parents need to do this rather than creating the financial, emotional, and mental stresses that can arise from adding your kids to your accounts.
This is a completely random question. My only brother who is a very wealthy man has several hundred thousands of pounds invested to provide him with a comfortable living until he dies. He has recently met a new woman who he very quickly moved into his home and now they are getting married. My sisters and I are concerned she is only after his money. He says he has made a will leaving her the house, car and a generous amount of money and that the rest will go to me and my two sisters if we outlive him. Can she, once they are married, contest his will? He seems totally blinkered to this woman and her family. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteAgain if the law is so out of touch with what people are doing with joint accounts and their adult child, then why is it there? Shouldn't other beneficiaries, who are not on the joint accounts, have rebut advancement? What if the adult child holds all legal rights for the parent POA, was the parent's care giver, a beneficiary of a RIFF and eventually the sole executor of an estate, does this not rebut presumption of trust? If accounts were used by the child during the parent's lifetime, without objection, how are these not a gift? Parents also do not want their children to know that they are favouring one child over the other, hence they don't specifically name the asset in a Will! Nor do they tell other beneficiaries during their lifetime! Not everyone consults lawyers and very few are up to date on the presumption of trust! WHAT A MESS!
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