POA as Joint Owner
Answer by John Burnett, BOL Guru Guru Bio
Question: Can a Power of Attorney also be a joint owner on an account?
Answer: Yes, of course. It is very common for one joint account owner to give the other joint owner a power of attorney, particularly if the owners are spouses. However, an attorney in fact does not normally have the authority, unless it is included explicitly in the power of attorney, to make an account owned by the principal joint with himself of herself. For example, if Ken Golliher gave John Burnett a power of attorney, John could not make himself a joint owner of Ken's deposit account unless Ken's power of attorney specifically granted that authority, and state law does not prohibit such terms in a power of attorney to take effect.
BankersOnline is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers and sponsors. Advertisers and sponsors are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankersOnline FREE to all banking professionals. Support our advertisers and sponsors by clicking through to learn more about their products and services.
Print Friendly!
Email This Article!
Discuss NOW!
