Can You Have a Joint Bank Account Without Being Married?

Yes, you can have a joint bank account without being married. You can open an account with just about anyone you want, whether they're a friend, family member or domestic partner, as long as you both meet the bank's eligibility criteria. Sharing an account can make it easier to split expenses and move money back and forth, but it also gives the other person full access to your account balance.

Before opening a joint account with someone you're not married to, it's worth weighing the convenience against the risks.

Key Takeaways

• You can open a joint account with someone you're not married to. Banks don't require marriage as a condition of co-owning an account.

• You can open several types of accounts jointly, including checking, savings, money market accounts and CDs.

• Either owner can generally withdraw the full balance. In most cases, both co-owners have equal, unrestricted access to every dollar.

• FDIC insurance covers each owner up to $250,000 for their combined jointly held accounts at a given bank, so a two-person joint account is typically insured up to $500,000 total.

• A joint account can have more than two owners if the bank allows it.

• An authorized user is a lower-risk alternative if you want to share access without sharing full ownership.

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Can You Open a Joint Bank Account Without Being Married?

Yes, you and a friend, family member or business partner may open a joint bank account together without being married. Banks don't require marriage as a condition to co-owning a bank account.

The FDIC defines a joint account as a deposit owned by two or more individuals that meets certain requirements. For example, co-owners generally must:

• Be natural persons, not legal entities such as trusts or corporations.

• Have equal withdrawal rights.

• Sign the signature card.

Who Can Open a Joint Account Together?

You can open an account with any person who is eligible for a bank account. Just as joint-account requirements don't include marriage, they also don't define what kinds of relationships are eligible for joint accounts.

Any of the following might open a joint account:

• Unmarried domestic partners

• Roommates who split rent, utility and subscription payments

• Friends saving up for a group vacation

• Parents and children (assuming the children are old enough to have their own accounts)

• Relatives who share caregiving responsibilities

• Business partners

What Types of Joint Accounts Can You Open?

You can open just about any type of account as a joint account. Consider how you'll use the money when deciding which type to open.

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How Do You Open a Joint Bank Account?

Opening a joint account is much like opening an individual one, except both account owners will need to provide information and IDs, so plan to do it together if possible. You can typically apply in person, though online is often easier.

1. Gather the documents and information you'll need for the application. This includes your names, Social Security numbers, contact information and birth dates, plus your government-issued photo IDs.

2. Start the application. Select "joint" when given the option to choose between individual and joint accounts.

3. Follow the prompts to fill out the application.

4. Upload your IDs.

5. Provide a bank account or other funding source for the new account.

6. Submit the application.

What Are the Benefits of a Joint Account?

• Allows safe and efficient money transfer between account owners.

• Makes saving toward a shared goal, or tracking and paying shared expenses, easy.

• Promotes transparency and accountability between account owners.

• Allows supervision over teens' and vulnerable family members' finances.

• May increase your total FDIC insurance coverage.

• Usually bypasses probate if one account holder dies.

What Are the Risks, Especially if You're Not Married?

Shared ownership of your money carries real risks you should understand before opening a joint account.

• A co-owner's overspending can deplete your share of the funds.

• The entire balance may be subject to seizure or levy if one owner has unpaid debt, regardless of how the account is titled.

• Either co-owner can empty the account without the other owner's permission.

The legal protections that safeguard married couples' interest in shared assets generally don't apply to unmarried joint account holders. Divorce laws, for example, typically call for the equal or equitable division of marital property when a married couple splits, but unmarried co-owners don't have that same court-supervised process to fall back on if they disagree about how to divide the money.

Authorized User vs. Joint Owner: Which Should You Choose?

You can give someone access to your account without also giving them joint ownership of your money. By making them an authorized user, also called an authorized signer, you can divide financial responsibilities while maintaining control over your finances.

A more formal way to give someone access to your account is to give them power of attorney. A power of attorney makes the person your attorney-in-fact and legally obligates them to act in your best interest. You can grant as much or as little control over your money as you want through this arrangement.

Rights of Survivorship vs. Tenants in Common

Most joint bank accounts are automatically set up with rights of survivorship, meaning if one co-owner dies, their share of the account passes directly to the surviving co-owner without going through probate, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Some banks also let you title an account as "tenants in common" instead, where each owner's share passes to their own heirs, based on their will or state law, rather than automatically to the surviving co-owner. Tenants-in-common titling is uncommon for everyday bank accounts and isn't offered by every institution, so ask your bank directly if this distinction matters to your situation. Either way, the FDIC notes that it doesn't distinguish between the two titling types for deposit insurance purposes.

What Happens to the Account if You Break Up?

When a married couple separates, a judge typically freezes their marital assets while the couple and their attorneys work out how to divide them, and a court divides property equally or equitably if they can't agree.

Unmarried account owners don't have the benefit of a divorce court, so you'll need to reach your own agreement about how to split the money, then close the account. These steps can help:

1. Open your own individual bank accounts.

2. Stop depositing money into the joint account. If you receive direct deposits from work or government benefits, redirect them to your new accounts.

3. Stop making payments from the account. Divide up any automatic debits and switch them over to your new accounts.

4. Wait a few weeks in case you overlooked an automatic payment or deposit.

5. Decide how to divide the money, whether that's an equal 50/50 split or an equitable split based on what each of you contributed.

6. Move your share of the funds into your own account.

7. Contact the bank to close the joint account.

How Can You Protect Yourself Before Opening One?

The best way for you and your partner, friend or family member to protect your own and each other's interests is to make sure you're on the same page about how and when to use the joint account, and what happens to the money if things don't work out.

• Decide what you'll use the account for.

• Decide how to hold the account. Confirm with your bank whether it defaults to rights of survivorship or whether you can request tenants-in-common titling instead.

• Write up an agreement specifying how to hold the account, how much each owner will contribute, how you may spend the money and how you'll divide it if you part ways. Also decide how to handle the account if a co-owner becomes incapacitated.

• Maintain your own individual bank accounts for spending and saving outside of what's covered by your joint account agreement.

• Set up account alerts to notify you of statements, activity, overdrafts and low balances.

• Document your own deposits and withdrawals separately in case a question comes up later.

Bottom Line

You don't need to be married to open a joint bank account, and doing so can genuinely simplify shared expenses, savings goals and day-to-day money management. The trade-off is that any co-owner can access, and potentially drain, the full balance, and unmarried partners don't have the same legal protections married couples get if the relationship ends.

If you're not ready to fully merge finances, an authorized user arrangement or a written agreement covering contributions, spending and what happens if you split up can help you get the benefits of shared banking with fewer surprises.

Key Terms

• Joint bank account: An account owned by two or more people, each with equal access to deposit, withdraw and manage the funds.

• Rights of survivorship: The default arrangement for most joint accounts, where a deceased co-owner's share passes automatically to the surviving co-owner without probate.

• Tenants in common: An alternative joint account titling where each owner's share passes to their own heirs rather than automatically to the surviving co-owner.

• Authorized user: Someone given limited access to spend from an account without owning any of the funds in it or bearing liability for the account.

• Power of attorney: A legal document that authorizes someone to act on your behalf in financial or legal matters.

• FDIC insurance: Federal protection on deposits, covering up to $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, at each insured bank. On a joint account, that coverage is combined across owners.

Summary generated by AI, verified by MoneyLion editors

Sources

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: What Happens if I Have a Joint Bank Account With Someone Who Died?

• FDIC: Joint Accounts

• SoFi: Tenancy in Common vs. Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship

• Chase: How To Title Your Assets

Summary generated by AI, verified by MoneyLion editors

FAQ

Can you have a joint bank account if you're not married? Yes. You can have a joint account with just about anyone who is eligible for an account, including a partner, friend, family member or business associate.

Do both people need to be present to open a joint account? Not necessarily, but it's easier if you are. You'll both need to show ID and sign the signature card if you apply in person, and you'll both need to agree to terms and upload IDs if you apply online.

What happens to a joint account if we break up? You'll need to decide how to divide the money yourselves, since unmarried co-owners don't have a divorce court to fall back on. Once each of you has transferred your share to your own account and canceled any auto payments and deposits, you can close the joint account.

Is it better to be an authorized user or a joint account holder? That depends on your situation. Authorized users have no ownership of the account or its money and limited access, but they also carry no responsibility for fees or debts tied to it. Joint account holders own the account and the money in it, but they could lose funds if a co-owner empties the account or their unpaid debt results in a levy.

Can one person take all the money out of a joint account? Yes. Both account owners generally have full, independent access to the entire balance.