Joint account with family.

lilac_lady

I'd like to open a joint account with my daughter so that she'd have immediate access to funeral funds if I died. Are there any rules preventing this?

Consumerist

There aren't any rules preventing a joint account with a family member.

Money in joint accounts

The deceased person may have held money with another person in a joint bank or building society account. Normally this means that the surviving joint owner automatically owns the money. The money does not form part of the deceased person's estate for the purpose of administration and therefore does not need to be dealt with by the executor or administrator. However, a deceased's person's share in joint property is treated as part of their estate for inheritance tax purposes, both on death and on gifts made during their lifetime.

You can read more in Dealing with a deceased person's money and property on the Directgov website.

Be aware, however, that normally either account holder can make withdrawals for any purpose and will not need the other account holder's consent.

le_loup

Also, access to funds for the purposes of paying for a funeral are not usually a problem.

CLAPTON

the DirectGov site also says

Jointly owned property

If the deceased person owned property with another person or persons as 'beneficial joint tenants', the deceased person's share automatically passes to the surviving joint owner(s). Property owned as joint tenants does not form part of a deceased person's estate on death, but the value of the deceased person's share of jointly owned property is included when calculating the value of the estate for inheritance tax purposes.
In other cases, where the deceased person owned property with another person or persons, the deceased person's share of the property forms part of their estate. It is dealt with by the executor under the terms of the will or by the administrator under the law of intestacy. Administration of the estate is likely to be complex and seeking independent legal advice is recommended.