if u get married and take your husbands last name what happens to your bank accounts is that now a joint bank?

Question

what happens to eveything u have b 4 the marriage is it better to add his name on or keep ur own name or change your name entirely what r the rules with marriage as far as assets can u have your own with his last name or is everything ours?

Answer 1

1) in regards to the bank accounts: unless you add your husband's name to your accts, it is still only yours. he would have no access to it. same goes for him.
2) everything that you own seperatly is still as is. Seperate. Unless you physically add his name to your accounts (i.e. credit cards, utility bills) you are still going to be the sole owner.
3) Changing and adding names is mainly based on your own preference. If you dont need to add his name to anything, then dont worry about it. There are things that you wont be able to add his name to (car loans, cell phones, loans).
What is most common is for the woman to change her name and then change it on her accts.
4) as far as assets go: it depends on what state you live in. SOme are community states so lets say you own a house, even if you are the only one on the deed, it is still considered to belong to both of you. Some states are not, and if you own a house, it is just your house. In the end if something happens to you, regardless of where you live, your husband will be entitled to all of your assets (including loans, bills, collections, credit cards) unless you state otherwise in your will.

I got married 4 yrs ago and I changed my last name. my husband and I got a joint account and I added him to my credit cards and such. It wasnt difficult. Also you got to be sure that you are going to be together for a long while. it can be a REALLY BIG PAIN to get his name off of your stuff.

hope this helps

Answer 2

While the law may be different from state to state. I do not think that just by taking his name means you now have a joint account unless you add his name to the account. It might however by an idea to add his name to the account as a survivor beneficiary that why someone will be able to use the money without waiting for your will to be taken care of.

Answer 3

If you take his name, you have to change your name on everything, all your id's, social security card, passport, credit cards, bank accounts and so on. But no it is still your account alone, unless you had his name to it. But you don't have to do that, nothing wrong with having your own account. As far as assets, what you have before marriage is yours alone, anything bought once married is both of yours.

Answer 4

You can still have your own bank account. You just have to change your name on them. You can add him to your accounts or you do not have to.

Answer 5

You can change your name on the account but it is only a joint account if you add him to your account. It is wise to add someone to your account because if you were to die and you were the only one on the account nobody could take your money out of your account. It would stay in the bank until it ran out of money or your spouse got a court order to get the money.

Answer 6

anything you own or have before marriage its yours, you can chang your last name and have your own account, anything you have while married,it is 50/50