A client recently came to our Manhattan office with a common story. His mother, living alone in her Brooklyn home, was starting to have trouble keeping up with her bills. He wanted to help, so he went with her to the bank. The teller had a simple suggestion: “Just add your name to her checking account. It will be easier for everyone.” It sounds like a practical, harmless shortcut. In my experience, it is one of the most well-intentioned and damaging mistakes a family can make.
This simple act of adding a name to a signature card sets in motion legal consequences that most people—and many bank tellers—do not understand. It can unintentionally disinherit siblings, expose a parent’s life savings to the child’s creditors, and create bitter conflict in Surrogate’s Court. The desire to help is noble. The method is fraught with risk.
The Right of Survivorship Presumption in New York
When you add your name to a parent’s bank account, you are not just gaining access. You are creating a “joint account with right of survivorship.” New York law has a strong default rule for these accounts—codified in Banking Law § 675. This statute creates a legal presumption that the money in the account belongs to both of you equally. Upon the death of one owner, the entire balance automatically passes to the survivor.
Think about what that means for your family’s legacy. Your mother may have a will that meticulously divides her estate equally among you and your two siblings. But if her primary liquid asset—say, $200,000 in savings—is in that joint account, her will becomes irrelevant for those funds. Upon her death, that entire sum legally belongs to you alone. It does not pass through her estate and is not governed by her will. Your siblings receive nothing from that account.
Challenging this is incredibly difficult. We’ve seen these cases in Surrogate’s Court. To overturn the presumption, your siblings would have to prove with “clear and convincing evidence” that the account was created only for convenience, without the intent to create a right of survivorship. This is a high legal bar, often requiring proof of fraud or undue influence—painful accusations to levy against a family member. What was meant as a convenience becomes the seed of a family dispute that can last for years.
Your Creditors Can Now Reach Your Parent’s Assets
The risks are not just about inheritance. The danger begins the moment your name is added to the account. Because you are now a legal co-owner of the funds, your financial liabilities can become your parent’s problem. If you are sued, get divorced, or file for bankruptcy, the money in that joint account may be considered your asset, available to your creditors or a former spouse.
I have seen a parent’s emergency fund decimated because their adult child, a co-owner on the account, went through a messy divorce. The court viewed half of the account balance as marital property subject to division. The parent, who had saved that money over a lifetime, was suddenly forced to hand over a significant portion to their former daughter-in-law. They never imagined their child’s personal troubles could jeopardize their own financial security.
By linking your finances, you are tearing down the firewall that should exist between your financial life and your parent’s. Stewardship means protecting a legacy, not needlessly exposing it to outside risk.
A More Prudent Path: The Durable Power of Attorney
There is a far better instrument for this exact situation. It was designed for it. It’s called a Durable Power of Attorney (POA).
A POA is a legal document where your parent (the “principal”) grants you (the “agent”) the authority to manage their financial affairs. You can pay bills, manage investments, and handle banking—all on their behalf. The crucial difference is that a POA grants you authority, not ownership. The money remains 100% your parent’s property. It is not exposed to your creditors, and it is distributed according to their will upon their death.
Acting under a POA also imposes a fiduciary duty upon you. This is a legal obligation to act solely in your parent’s best interest, putting their needs above your own. This provides a layer of legal protection for your parent and creates a clear framework for your actions, which can help prevent misunderstandings with other family members. It is an intentional, deliberate, and legally sound way to provide the help your parent needs without the unintended consequences of a joint account.
The impulse to help an aging parent is a good one. The key is to ensure that your actions align with their long-term intentions and protect the legacy they have worked so hard to build. A simple shortcut at the bank is rarely the prudent path.
If you are considering how to best assist a parent with their finances, a foundational step is to create a properly drafted Durable Power of Attorney. My firm can schedule a review of your family’s circumstances to confirm this is the right instrument to protect all parties involved.
