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Written by Jonathan J. David Jonathan J. David

Dear Jonathan: I am a widower and have three adult children. I happened to mention to one of my daughters that I would like someone to help me with bill paying. I am at that point in my life that I’m starting to become forgetful, and I don’t want to have to worry about forgetting to pay my bills.

My daughter said she would help and suggested I put her on my bank account. I told her that would be fine, but I want her to share whatever money is left in that account with her siblings when I pass away.

She promised me that she would do that. Do you see any issues with this approach?

Jonathan says: You can certainly add your daughter to your bank account so she can bank and pay bills for you.

When you pass away, however, she will legally own whatever money is left in that account, and if she understands it is legally hers to keep notwithstanding your intent, she may decide to keep it.

If you want the money in that account to be divided equally between your children when you die, having your daughter on the account is not the best plan.

Even if she decides to honor your wishes and share that money with your other children, whatever she gives to her siblings will be deemed a gift, which could have gift-tax consequences depending on the size of the gift.

Also, if she dies before making those gifts to your other children, that money would become part of her estate; if she has a spouse or children, that money would, most likely, end up going to them and not to her siblings.

You should contact your bank and find out whether they will allow you to name your daughter on your account for convenience purposes only. This means that your daughter would only have check-writing privileges but would not be a co-owner of the account.

Consequently, she could not claim any ownership of the funds in that account upon your death.

Finally, you might want to consider preparing a financial durable power of attorney that names your daughter as your agent, which would allow her to handle your financial affairs, including banking and check writing.

Rather than putting your daughter’s name on your account, this instrument would provide her with the necessary authority to act on your behalf.

Before doing anything, I recommend you consult with an estate-planning attorney, who can explain to you the benefits of implementing a financial durable power of attorney, as well as engaging in estate planning in general.

Good luck.

Jonathan J. David is a shareholder in the law firm of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C., 1700 E. Beltline N.E., Grand Rapids, MI 49525.