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Life Insurance Disbursement etc. . . Please Help!

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PsychoFan

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland

First, I apologize for the potential misuses of any legal terms.

This is a somewhat weird and complicated financial question. My 25 yrs old sister passed away late last year and my mom (who was designated as the sole beneficiary of my sister's insurance policy) recently received her life insurance policy settlement. All taxes and fees have already been taken out of the disbursed amount. Now here's where the mess comes in, all of my mom's bank accounts were opened jointly in hers and my dad's names, but my dad does not want to be involved with the money (sentimental reasons) so my mom asked me to open a savings account in MY name and hers (she being the "minority" holder and me as the primary) so that she can put the money there. She did not want an account herself because she wanted to be sure if anything was to happen to her, access to the money would be fine.

I am 26 years old, 100% self-sufficient, not in debt, enough liquid and stock assets, and living independently in Maryland as a PhD scientist while my parents are in NY (just to let you know that I am not greedy or after the money because I rather have my sister back than the money). I have absolutely no desires or needs to access the funds in this joint account so my questions are, am I liable to pay any taxes on money that she put into the account (besides taxes on interests earned). How much can she put in? Will the IRS view the deposits as earnings/gifts? The money IS NOT given to me, it is just being deposited into our joint account.

TIA
 
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LdiJ

Senior Member
What is the name of your state? Maryland

First, I apologize for the potential misuses of any legal terms.

This is a somewhat weird and complicated financial question. My 25 yrs old sister passed away late last year and my mom (who was designated as the sole beneficiary of my sister's insurance policy) recently received her life insurance policy settlement. All taxes and fees have already been taken out of the disbursed amount. Now here's where the mess comes in, all of my mom's bank accounts were opened jointly in hers and my dad's names, but my dad does not want to be involved with the money (sentimental reasons) so my mom asked me to open a savings account in MY name and hers (she being the "minority" holder and me as the primary) so that she can put the money there. She did not want an account herself because she wanted to be sure if anything was to happen to her she would be fine.

I am 26 years old, 100% self-sufficient, not in debt, enough liquid and stock assets, and independent living in Maryland as a PhD scientist while my parents are in NY (just to let you know that I am not greedy or after the money because I rather have my sister back than the money). I have absolutely no desires or needs to access the funds in this joint account so my questions are, am I liable to pay any taxes on money that she put into the account (besides taxes on interests earned). How much can she put in? Will the IRS view the deposits as earnings/gifts? The money IS NOT given to me, it is just being deposited into our joint account.

TIA
There is no tax problem with putting the money in a joint account (other than the interest earnings). Taking any money out, however, could constitute a "gift". Your mother however should really be primary.
 

abezon

Senior Member
Mom could just set it up as a TOD/POD account. It stands for Transfer On Death / Pay On Death. That way you could access the account by simply showing her death certificate.

An estate planning attorney once told me that most "estate planning" is done by bank tellers setting up accounts....
 

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