What are some of the dangers of owning property jointly with someone other than a spouse?
If a joint owner is involved in litigation with creditors, such as the IRS, or the victim of an automobile accident with that joint owner, then the jointly-owned property may be subject to attachment by those creditors, even if that joint owner really is on the title only to avoid probate. If a joint owner becomes incapacitated, and the property is jointly-owned real estate, then a court appointed guardian may have to be obtained to sell the real estate. The family of the first joint owner to die may be disinherited because the property will pass by operation of law to an unrelated surviving joint tenant. There can be a great deal of tax uncertainty with respect to whether a gift is made when a joint account is set up and who should pay the income tax on interest earned by a joint account.
