What would be some disadvantages of having a joint bank account of someone you are not married to?

Someone I'm involved with for a along time asked me to think about this.What would be some disadvantages of having a joint bank account of someone you are not married to?
Watch Judge Judy, she has those cases all of the time. She cleans up the mess from it. What would be some disadvantages of having a joint bank account of someone you are not married to?
Well, that other person has access to all the money in the account at all times, regardless of who put the money in there. If that other person can't maintain a positive balance, YOU are responsible for the fees. Even maintaining a joint account when you're married is difficult. My parents found they were always looking at their checkbook and then each going their separate ways and spending the same money the other person was spending! They've opted now to have two joint accounts, so they always have access, but my mom has one that's ';hers'; and my dad has one that's ';his';. Also, some banks don't allow you to ';remove'; a name from a joint account. The account must be closed and then a new account must be opened. This is extremely difficult for the innocent party involved in a joint account which has gone into the negative. An account cannot be closed without balancing out.
I am assuming that you guys are probably living together.....





There are the ups (having all money/bills go through one account, etc.) But there are the downsides as well....





If you guys are engaged, I would be more apt to say yes, go for it.





If not, then wait would be my advice. You really have to take into consideration.....how good is he with money? Does he spend lavishly? Is he frugal? Do you see this relationship go forward to marriage, or is stagnant with no real ';moving forward';? If you two do happen to break up......how are you going to divide the money in the account?





If you do decide to go along with this, I would keep a separate account still, and use that for your own personal use. Put away money in that account. Put only money that goes for bills into the joint account. Do not put everything into that account. Because to be honest, no matter how much you trust him and love him, you never know how it will turn out and with him on that bank account, he can legally take everything out of it and disappear if things turn sour and you can't do a darn thing about it.
My husband and I got a joint account once we were engaged even though we weren't living together. Our reason was that my husband (then fiance) traveled out of town during the week for work and so I was the one who wrote checks out for his rent and other bills he had to pay. And also because he's awful with money.





Some disadvantages would be that if the two of you broke up, one person could take all the money out of the account.
It depends on the reason for getting one. I have a joint account with my fiance (we live together) but we got it because we needed it to be able to be eligible for health insurance from an employer. We use the account for utility payments, and that's about it.





If there is no set need for it, I personally recommend not bothering because it complicates things and could pose problems if someone is irresponsible with that money.





If you do it, make sure you still have the majority of your money in your OWN account. And have very clear guidelines for what the money in the joint account is used for, how much you each put in, etc.





You didn't mention why he wants to do this. There could be a good reason. But if the reason is that he is not always financially reliable he wants your money in the account as a safety net, then obviously don't do it.
well, it would depend on the person in question... Do you trust them completely? What are their spending habits? Do you plan on being with this person forever? It would get a little complicated if you and this person ever became on bad terms. So If you really trust this person, I'd say go for it! My husband and I shared a bank account from very early on, when we were dating and I can't complain! He asks me before he makes any big purchases, and I do the same.
well, because as a joint bank account owner, your boyfriend could take all the money out of the bank, your money included. And there is nothing the bank or you can do to stop this. He could overdraw the account and you as a joint owner would be accountable for it.


That is worst case scenerio. My now husband and I had a joint account for years before we were married and did fine. Just make sure you both dont forget about debit purchases. That cost us some money in overdraft because we would forget about recording them.
My boyfriend and I have decided that once be get engaged we will open a joint bank account, BUT keep our own separate accounts, even after we are married. If your relationship were to fall apart he could empty the entire account.