Mount Everest

It may seem like a quick and easy solution to add the name of an adult child to one or more of your bank accounts if you anticipate needing help managing day-to-day finances. With the ability to tap into the accounts, your offspring can write checks to pay bills and handle other financial matters while avoiding the delays and costs associated with probate at your death.However, this approach may have all sorts of unintended consequences. "Most people think all they are doing is putting a name on an account," says Rosanne Duane, estate planning attorney in Jupiter, Fla. But actually, they are more likely creating a joint account, making the other person a full owner, typically with rights of survivorship.The bank account co-owner will inherit the account upon your death, which may not be your intention if you have other children or heirs to whom you want to leave part of the account. Creditors could come after the account if the co-owner has debt troubles and, of course, there's also th...

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