<prompt> Human: Hello. Apologies if this doesnt completely fit the subs format guidelines, as its my first time posting here.tl;dr up front - my mothers mental state is deteriorating, and my sister is demanding I open a joint savings account with her where my mothers SSI and savings will be deposited, managed, and slowly dispersed out. Im curious to know if I can be held liable financially or otherwise for any duplicitous actions on the part of my sister, or should the account be overdrawn go into arears. A more full backstory - my mother has a history of alcoholism, and through a combination of events has begun to suffer some mild dementia. Shes still cogent enough that she lives on her own, in a house next-door to family, who check in on her daily. However, as she is still prone to binge drinking at times, the family have mostly arrested her finances from her. Currently my aunt manages her SSI income, and ensures bills are paid first, with a remainder allowance being given to my mother for food and misc. purchases. My aunt is wanting to rid herself of this burden and pass it onto my sister. My sister, in turn, is aggressively suggesting that a joint account be opened between I and herself to manage these funds. I really dont want anything to do with my family in general, or finances in particular, but there is a lot of pressure on me to do so. A lot of this is owing to being at least moderately more responsible than my other family members, and because my sister, while financially competent, is extremely manipulative, and few family members trust her to outright hold the entire account.Personal burdens aside, Im curious to know what kind of trouble I am getting myself into, should I choose to create this joint account. The intent, as far as Ive been assured, is to put my name on the account as a backup, as a second set of eyes, and to require the approval of both my sister and myself before any money can be withdrawn. But if, for example, the account becomes overdrawn, how will this impact my own personal accounts? Or would it be possible for my sister to withdraw the money and then remove her name from the account, leaving me with a lot of bills and no funds to pay them? Contrarily, are there any benefits or positives to opening this joint account?I apologize if this is still a bit too vague; I dont have a lot of experience with joint accounts but I can imagine a lot of negative scenarios in my head. I will, of course, respond in the comments. Update: Wowsers that was an astoundingly fast response from the community. Thank you all for the insight. Ive opted to just divorce myself from the situation and have my sister send bank statements to me, and as uhawkspur1 suggested have us see an estate attorney if she really wants a joint account. Assistant: Why cant you open a joint account without your sister, just your mom and you?Human: Currently I live across the country from my family. My aunt and sister live in proximity to my mother, and my sister interacts with my mother often, having her babysit her children, generally checking in, taking her to get groceries, etc. At least as much as my aunt does. Because of this, and due to my sisters dominant and controlling nature, she feels she is the only one qualified to manage the account. This was the impetus for my aunt wanting to hand it over in the first place - just to placate my sisters bemoaning. But likewise its why Im being pressured into signing onto the account.  <response>: Yeah, I dont see why you should be on the account then. Id tell her that only one of you needs to be on the account. Theres no reason for both of you.To answer you question directly, if youre on the account, youre responsible for any fees or overdrafts. If your sister overdrafts the account and then takes herself off of it, shes still jointly responsible for the overdraft. It doesnt sound like you want to have a joint account with your sister and so you shouldnt. You can open two joint accounts, one with your mom and sister, and one with your mom and you. Open then with the same bank and do same-day transfers between them if you want. 