The other day I was doing some research into survivor benefits because of a situation that has come up in our family. Some of the information I already knew, but some of it was new (and actually rather shocking).
One thing that my father in law did long ago was put my husband on all of his accounts so that things like checking accounts would not have to got through probate or be subject to inheritance taxes. Leave it to the government to figure out how to get there share. It turns out that not all joint ownerships are safe (although there are exceptions like in the case of spouses have joint ownership).
It is possible that when one joint owner dies, the other joint owner will have to pay gift taxes on half of the value of the property that they owned jointly (minus the yearly gift allowance).
This revelation shouldn’t surprise me, after all there is very little in the tax law that makes common sense. But it did remind me why it is important to talk with a financial planner AND a tax professional before making any decisions about my own finances. What the one misses then the other should be able to catch so that I don’t end up owing (or passing a burden on to my family after I’m gone).