My daughter and I have a joint bank account. Assuming I die before her, will all the money in the account then belong to my daughter? If I have to go into a nursing home, will her share of the money have to go towards my upkeep?
Any money or property in joint names goes to the survivor, so your daughter will receive your share of the joint account money if you die first. As regards care home fees, the council’s social services departments should divide joint bank accounts for assessment purposes when working out how much you must contribute. So if you have to go into a home only half the money in the account should be taken into consideration. At that point it would be a good idea to split the money so that only your half pays the fees.