Conference quokka::non_custodial_parents

206.0. "Are All Parties to a Joint Account Protected?" by TERZA::ZANE (Imagine...) Thu Apr 09 1992 16:55

   I am posting this note for a member of our noting community who wishes to
   remain anonymous.


   							Terza
   						     -moderator-

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I am asking for this to be posted anonymously because I am really
feeling guilty about my lack of faith.

My husband and I both work for companies with medical plans which for
family coverage take out a little extra from your check.  Since mine is
the HMO, and we are quite happy with the HMO, he wants to drop his
coverage and reclaim that $18/week.  That in and of itself has me
worried.  I have always been comforted by the fact that if we disagreed
with some treatment, or lack of treatment, from our HMO that we could
always go somewhere else and the other insurance (Blue Cross Blue
Shield) would cover us.  His answer for that is that if faced with that
we could pick up the Blue Cross again at the beginning of any month.

The second thing that has me worried is that he wants to take that $18
and put it into a retirement fund that his company will then equal his
contribution and we don't pay taxes on that money until we actually
retire, some 30+ years from now.  Now, I suppose I am being paranoid,
and I feel like a real creep for being so doubtful and untrusting,
but... Just about all of our retirement "stuff" is done through his
work and his credit union.  My check tends to go towards more immediate
needs, like food and day care and cloths, etc.  And his check does the
mortgage too.  The cars are paid off.  So the way it boils down is most
of his check goes towards the "durable" goods, and most of mine goes
toward more transitory things.

The question I am leading up to here is this:  In NH, is it possible
for one spouse to dip into, or take off with, a joint account like
that?  I know that when we sold some property that he owned before we
got married, and my name never got attached to, I had to attend the
closing and for everything he signed I had to sign something that said
I knew and agreed to his selling.  Would a retirement account be under
the same restrictions?

For me, one of the blessings of being married has been that he does all
of the "big" bills and serious financial planning.  That sort of thing
depresses me.   But as a result I am really in the dark about where we
stand.  When I ask him he is perfectly willing and able to tell me
about every account, practically down to the last penny, but the whole
thing overwhelms me.

    my response, based on just a few moments reflection, his that your
    husband is trying to provide a better future for you both.  it sounds
    like he feels two seperate medical programs is more than you actually
    require (DEC recently provided its own employees the option to OPT out,
    also, and avoid the costs of redundancy).
    
    it also appears from your letter that he thinks the 1 for 1 matching
    his employer will provide is worth the "loss" of coverage... think
    about it in dollars and cents... 18 per week, matched by your husbands
    employer is 1872 dollers per year... which when put into a retirement
    fund gaining only a few percentage points per year (say seven... and
    many do better than that) will result in a VERY handsome nest egg in 30
    years... probably near 150,000 or more.
    
    financial advisers very often encourage their clients to put the LIMIT
    their clients employers allow into these types of programs.
    
    As to the question about whether your husband can dip into the fund? 
    Probably not.  Depending on what kind of fund it is, there is often a
    very stiff penalty imposed by the IRS on early withdrawals... and there
    is ALWAYS a year-end report (IRS form 1099) which must be included with
    your federal tax.  Just keep an eye on that report... or equally
    important, look at his statements from the credit/savings/bank used. 
    They report monthly on deposits and withdrawals to all accounts,
    including IRAs and the like.  You can verify the automatic witholding
    of the 18 from his wages by looking at his pay stub.
    
    but, is there an underlying issue of "trust" involved?
    
    
    tony