Tom....Question About Being Added To My Parents Estate

[melskids]

my father is working on getting his "future wishes" in order. he would like to add my name to his bank accounts, in the event that i would need access to the funds to take care of him or my mother if they cannot do so themselves.

how does this affect my daycare business?

should i ever get audited....will they count his money as my "income" because my name is attached to it? would i have to claim it or pay taxes on it?!?! its a fairly large amount, to me anyway

would i need to prove somehow that its not really "my" money?

and would i be responsible to pay tax on the interest, or would my father? (he does still work and files taxes each year)

thanks in advance for the info!!!!

[Unregistered]

List yourself on the checking or savings account as an authorized signer...that way you can pay bills, etc. without the money actually being "yours". Or have your parents open a trust account and list you as a signer on the account.

[TomCopeland]

Estate

It is a good idea to think about the tax consequences before putting your name on your father's bank accounts. It does allow you to conduct banking transactions on his behalf. It won't affect your taxes if the total deposits in the bank accounts each year are less than $13,000. That's because your father (and mother) can gift you $13,000 each for every year as a gift and it's not treated as income to you.

You should keep records showing where the deposits into this account are coming from to help protect you if the IRS thinks this is money that you earned.

[melskids]

thanks Tom!

the money he wants to transfer in both our names is more than 13,000, but he can prove the money came from his mothers estate, when the house sold after her passing. i am assuming that is enough to prove it isnt income i made?

[MyAngels]

my father is working on getting his "future wishes" in order. he would like to add my name to his bank accounts, in the event that i would need access to the funds to take care of him or my mother if they cannot do so themselves.

Our estate planning attorney had my husband and I sign powers of attorney for property and health naming each other, and then our oldest son (in case either of us is not able) to make these types of decisions and transactions.

If your dad has not already done so, he should talk to an attorney who specializes in estate planning.

[TomCopeland]

Estate

I agree with MyAngels - talk to an estate attorney.