| ESTATE PLANNING column: Accessing a joint account following death
Q: My sister and I are listed as joint owners on our mother's savings account. After our mother passes away, can we legally close the account to use the money to pay for funeral expenses?A: It's pretty common for children to be added to bank accounts so that they can get to the funds in the event the parent dies. The short answer to your question is, yes, you should be able to access the funds in the account after your mother's death. The long answer, however, is you will have to jump through a few hoops to get to the funds.Before the bank will release funds to you, as surviving joint owner, you will likely have to provide a consent to transfer signed by the county assessor's office.A consent to transfer essentially is a release that the state gives, allowing the release of an asset to a surviving joint owner, beneficiary or other person entitled to the asset.However, before the assessor's office is willing to sign a consent, it will ask for certain things, including, but not limited to, a death certificate.
Don't let financial myths derail you
NEW YORK - Whether you're a young adult tackling money management for the first time, or a financial late bloomer struggling to get a grip on your spending, you would do well to heed the warnings of Steven B. Smith, president of Finicity, a company offering online money-management tools to consumers and businesses. Smith debunks four financial myths that frequently derail people's efforts to manage spending, reduce debt and increase savings: • Myth 1: It's always best to open a savings account at a brick-and-mortar bank. .
19-11-2007: StanChart e$aver advocates flexible banking
KUALA LUMPUR: Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia Bhd has launched an online banking product, the e$aver, which is designed to complement regular savings or checking accounts. The e$aver offers high interest rates of up to 3.5% on savings while providing the flexibility of managing funds online with no lock-in period. Without the need for a minimum amount, it comes with no maintenance fee, no minimum balance fee, no over-counter fee as well as no StanChart ATM withdrawal fee. “With this latest initiative, we expect a total of 40,000 new sign-ups which would further strengthen our targeted 10% growth rate," said Shyam Srinivasan, StanChart Malaysia country head of consumer banking. An early bird bonus interest of 0.25% per annum will added onto the account for customers who sign up before Dec 31, 2007.
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