When someone is ill or disabled, often they may put some or all of their assets in joint names with the person who is going to assist them in paying bills. This may present serious problems.
When the time comes to deal with the estate of the person who was sick or disabled, and the executor is gathering the assets so that an inventory can be made, the question is raised as to what happened to the assets that were in joint names. If all is well, the person who is holding the joint assets will acknowledge that they should be part of the estate and will turn them over to the executor. On the other hand, particularly if there are ill feelings among the estate beneficiaries, the person holding the assets may claim that the decedent intended them to belong to the survivor of them, and will refrain from turning them over to the executor.
If the parties cannot agree, the solution may be to file a petition with the Probate and Family Court so that the judge may resolve the matter. This procedure takes time and costs money, so it is important to avoid this problem in the first place.
If you have a durable power of attorney, and authorize another person to deal with your checking account, savings account, or other assets for your benefit, then upon your death or your recovery from illness, there will be no issue as to who is the owner of the assets. If you do not have a durable power of attorney now, or yours has not been reviewed for some time, you should contact us.
Another area where joint ownership of assets can cause problems is where someone makes a will with specific gifts to beneficiaries, then makes assets joint with the same beneficiaries or payable to them. A beneficiary might receive an asset because he is a designated beneficiary on an account, and he might receive equivalent assets under the will. The result would be designated beneficiaries receiving twice the intended gifts and those who receive the remainder of the estate receiving little or nothing. We will be glad to help you with the planning of your estate and your will.
