There are several benefits to opening up a joint bank account with a partner or spouse. For one thing, if you and your partner share bills, then it's easy to have a single checking account you dip into to pay those expenses. And if you're working toward specific financial goals together, like buying a house, it helps to have your money in a joint savings account.
Plus, opening a joint bank account gives you more FDIC insurance protection. When you open an account on your own at an FDIC-insured bank, you're granted up to $250,000 worth of protection. But that limit rises to $500,000 when you have a joint account ($250,000 per account holder).
However, if you're going to open a joint bank account, then it's important to be on the same page about how you manage it. And that generally means consulting one another before taking a large withdrawal.
You can take withdrawals on your own
When you have a joint bank account, you don't need your partner's permission to take a withdrawal. You can remove funds from that account on your own, and your bank won't ask for verification that the other person on the account is okay with that transaction.
But just because you can make an independent decision to withdraw money from a joint bank account doesn't mean you should. If both you and your partner have contributed to that account, then you both deserve to have a say in how that money is spent. And if you don't consult one another, you could end up with a financial mess on your hands.
Let's say you remove $1,000 from your joint checking account to put down a deposit on a home improvement project without consulting your partner. It may be that they just wrote a check for $2,000 to cover a big car repair, but you may not have realized that. Without discussing payments with each other, you risk overdrawing your account.
But even if you don't end up in that specific situation, not discussing large withdrawals with one another could damage your relationship. And that could have serious consequences.
When money becomes a source of conflict
The Jimenez Law Firm says that for every 10 U.S. marriages that end in divorce, four are due to money matters. You don't necessarily need to consult your partner if you're removing $80 from your joint bank account to buy groceries or pay the water bill -- those are ongoing expenses. But you probably should talk to your partner before taking a $700 withdrawal to update your wardrobe.
And it goes both ways. Any time you're looking to take a withdrawal for something that isn't a recurring bill, or a joint bill you both know about, it's best to have a quick conversation to make sure both of you are on board. If you keep removing funds without consulting each other, you might not only whittle down your account balance, but create a scenario where there's loads of resentment. And that's not what you want.
So sit down and come up with a plan for managing your joint account together. It could work wonders for your finances, as well as your relationship.
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