1. What is a joint account?
   A joint account is an account owned by two or more individuals. Federal deposit insurance covers joint accounts owned in any manner conforming to applicable state law, such as joint tenants with a right of survivorship, tenants by the entirety, and tenants in common.



2. How are joint accounts insured?
   An individual's (co-owners') interest in all qualifying joint accounts are added together and the total is insured up to the $100,000 maximum. Each person's interest (or share) in a joint account is deemed equal. The balance of a joint account can exceed $100,000, as long as no owner's share of joint accounts at the same bank exceeds $100,000.



3. What are the requirements for joint accounts?
   Joint accounts are insured separately if all of the following conditions are met:
   
   
   • All co-owners must be natural persons. This means that legal entities such as corporations or partnerships are not eligible for joint account deposit insurance coverage.
   • Each of the co-owners must have personally signed a deposit account signature card. The execution of an account signature card is not required for certificates of deposit, deposit obligations evidenced by a negotiable instrument, or accounts maintained by an agent, nominee, guardian, custodian, or conservator, but the deposit must in fact be jointly owned.
   • Each of the co-owners must have a right of withdrawal on the same basis as the other co-owners.
   
   For example, if one co-owner can withdraw funds on his or her signature alone, but the other co-owner can withdraw funds only on the signature of both co-owners, then this requirement has not been satisfied; the co-owners do not have equal withdrawal rights. Likewise, if a co-owner's right to withdraw funds is limited to a specified dollar amount, the funds in the account will be allocated between the co-owners according to their withdrawal rights and insured as single account funds. For example, if $100,000 is deposited in the names of A and B, but A has the right to withdraw only up to $5,000 from the account, $5,000 is allocated to A and the remainder is allocated to B. The funds, as allocated, are then added to any other single account funds of A or B, respectively.



4. Are joint accounts owned by the same persons separately insured if different Social Security numbers are used?
   The use of Social Security numbers does not determine insurance coverage, nor does rearranging the owners' names, changing the style of the names, or using "or" rather than "and" to join the owners' names in a joint account title.



5. What is the effect of community property laws?
   Community property laws do not affect deposit insurance coverage. In states recognizing this form of ownership, an account in the sole name of one spouse will be insured as the single account funds of that spouse even though the funds are considered to be owned jointly under state law. Additionally, a qualifying joint account in the names of both spouses will be separately, insured as a joint account.
   
   

   Example of Insurance Coverage for Joint Accounts
   Account	Owners	Balance
   # 1	A and B	$100,000
   # 2	B and A	25,000
   # 3	A and B and C	75,000
   # 4	A and D	80,000
   Total		$280,000

   Each owner's ownership interests in these four joint accounts follow:

   A's Ownership Interest
   1/2 of the balance in account #1	$50,000
   1/2 of the balance in account #2	$12,500
   1/3 of the balance in account #3	$25,000
   1/2 of the balance in account #4	$40,000
   Total of A's Ownership Interest	$127,500

   A's ownership interest is limited to $100,000, so $27,500 is uninsured.

   B's Ownership Interest
   1/2 of the balance in account #1	$50,000
   1/2 of the balance in account #2	$12,500
   1/3 of the balance in account #3	$25,000
   Total of B's Insured Funds	$87,500

   B's ownership interest in the joint account category is $87,500. That amount is less than the $100,000 maximum, so it is fully insured.

   C's Ownership Interest
   1/3 of the balance in account #3	$25,000
   Total of C's Insured Funds	$25,000

   C's ownership interest in the joint account category is $25,000. That amount is less than the $100,000 maximum, so it is fully insured.

   D's Ownership Interest
   1/2 of the balance in account #4	$40,000
   Total of D's Insured Funds	$40,000

   D's ownership interest in the joint account category is $40,000. That amount is less than the $100,000 maximum, so it is fully insured.

   Summary of Insurance Coverage for Joint Accounts
   Owner	Account Balance	Insured	Uninsured
   A	$127,500	$100,000	$27,500
   B	87,500	87,500	0
   C	25,000	25,000	0
   D	40,000	40,000	0
   Total	$280,000	$252,500	$27,500

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