<p>Please forgive me if this question has been asked here before - I am a very poor post-searcher! And I am also very under-educated about finance. Anyway, about a year ago, my elderly mother-in-law asked to add my name onto her checking/savings accounts (both accounts held in one major national bank; DH and I also have accounts with the same bank). She made this request so that I could access her accounts in the event that she should become incapacitated and need someone to manage her financial affairs. I dutifully complied, wanting to help her and make her feel at ease, not thinking anything of it. Now I'm wondering, will the fact that my name is linked to her assets make DH and I appear as though we have more assets than we actually do when it comes time to apply for finaid? (D is a rising senior, will be applying to college in the fall). Mother-in-law has quite a tidy sum in these accounts, much more than DH and I have in our accounts in the bank. Will finaid administrators find these accounts and assume we have access to all the money, hers and ours? What should I do? Thanks in advance, Ms. L</p>
<p>I don’t know if FA officers would find them, but you will be asked to report them. Can you get your name off the accounts and have your mother give you power-of-attorney instead? That way you could also get as her funds if you needed to but wouldn’t be a co-holder of her accounts.</p>
<p>If your social security number isn’t on the accounts, and if you do not report any interest earned from them on your taxes, then you shouldn’t be required to report these accounts as your assets. If you do have your SSN on the accounts, talk to the bank about other ways in which you could have access to the funds without their being in your SSN. One would be to be named the beneficiary “payable on death”, although this doesn’t solve your mother-in-law’s concern about access if she’s incapacitated.</p>
<p>No, this is common for those with elderly parents (my name was all my folks’ accounts and even the deed to their home). If it’s actually not your money/property, you do no report it for FAFSA. You can call the help desk (1-800-4-Fed-Aid) to verify (anonymously). FA offices do not track down accounts, but will make assumptions about asset values if interest/dividends are reported on the tax return…which shouldn’t be the case if the accounts are set up properly with your mom’s SSN.</p>
<p>All of my mother’s accounts were also held jointly. The key is that hers was the one where the 1098 I was sent each year. We also have accounts held jointly with our kids. They get those 1098 I’s.</p>
<p>Thumper, I think you mean 1099…1098 is for mortgage interest.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone … so now I’m off to the call the bank to find out whether the accounts are set up properly with dear mother-in-law’s SSN … Ms. L</p>