Many people set up joint accounts with spouses, children, elderly parents or business partners. But beware. If that joint account owner has a divorce, a tax lien, or gets garnished after a lawsuit judgment, all of the money in the account(s) may be exposed. In the case of spouses, joint accounts are not necessarily an asset protection issue. However, in setting up accounts with children or elderly parents, one may be able to be a signatory on the account and access money without necessarily being a joint owner. This may be as effective for practical purposes as a joint account, but with less risk of exposure to creditors. If one has to have a joint account, you may want to consider keeping the balance in the account to a minimum.
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