I was added to the account because mother cannot see well enough to sign checks or balance the account. I do not have any POA at this point. I am unsure if the bank now considers it a "joint" account or if I am just an authorized signer.
Thank you both for your answers. I will be sitting down with mom to discuss these issues as soon as I have the money to go to the attorney recommended by our bank. Thank you VERY much for the info about Lighthouse for the Blind. I will certainly check them out!
Not sure what you mean by the account being a car loan. If it's a loan from the bank, and you consider that an "account," whether or not you have liability depends on whether or not you co-signed or guaranteed the loan.
As to joint ownership of the checking/savings or other accounts, and liability, find out how the account is titled, whether it's joint ownership with rights to survivor or not.
4my - go to the bank and speak with a bank officer as to exactly how the accounts are done. Unless you are/were a co signer or co borrower on the car note, it's probably totally moms debt. If she should die before its paid off, then it becomes a debt against her estate. If your are her executor as per her will, you kinda have to continue payments or it will get repo'd.
About banking, what my mom did after my dad died was to make all her accounts kept in her name and tied to her SS # only but with me as a signature on accounts and all accounts POD (paid on death) to me. Checks read moms name & underneath my name with her address. Mom has since died and what was especially useful was her POD checking account then became the estate account for probate as it basically moved to my name, my SS - the bank officer actually suggested to do this rather than open an estate of account with its own irs #. I've run all post death costs through It too which makes bookkeeping very easy & still using those old checks!
At some point you will need to do legal with mom....DPOA, MPOA, review her will and perhaps do a codicil. If your moms bank is a better bank they will have names of estate or elder law attys that other bank clients have worked with. I would suggest you do this soon. Any banking changes usually mean that a bank officer will want to speak to the primary account holder (your mom) totally on their own while you sit in another area or room. If bank officer senses any whiff of dementia, the bank won't change things. I'm not trying to imply being blind is being incompetent, but rather if mom is blind and also maybe starting dementia, you want to get legal done ASAP.
Also my late mil was low vision and then legally blind. She was able to get these "u" frame readers on loan for free from Lighthouse for the Blind that actually were quite useful. About the size of a big heavy shoebox, that she could place prescription bottles, checkbook, documents, etc. on & it increased the font size evenly. It's different that just a magnifying glass which just blows everything up so it gets big but grainy, blurry. Lighthouse has all sort of other super neat stuff for those with vision issues. We actually have a Lighthouse in my city (New Orleans) but they also have an on-line shop. Good luck with all this!
As to joint ownership of the checking/savings or other accounts, and liability, find out how the account is titled, whether it's joint ownership with rights to survivor or not.
About banking, what my mom did after my dad died was to make all her accounts kept in her name and tied to her SS # only but with me as a signature on accounts and all accounts POD (paid on death) to me. Checks read moms name & underneath my name with her address. Mom has since died and what was especially useful was her POD checking account then became the estate account for probate as it basically moved to my name, my SS - the bank officer actually suggested to do this rather than open an estate of account with its own irs #. I've run all post death costs through It too which makes bookkeeping very easy & still using those old checks!
At some point you will need to do legal with mom....DPOA, MPOA, review her will and perhaps do a codicil. If your moms bank is a better bank they will have names of estate or elder law attys that other bank clients have worked with. I would suggest you do this soon. Any banking changes usually mean that a bank officer will want to speak to the primary account holder (your mom) totally on their own while you sit in another area or room. If bank officer senses any whiff of dementia, the bank won't change things. I'm not trying to imply being blind is being incompetent, but rather if mom is blind and also maybe starting dementia, you want to get legal done ASAP.
Also my late mil was low vision and then legally blind. She was able to get these "u" frame readers on loan for free from Lighthouse for the Blind that actually were quite useful. About the size of a big heavy shoebox, that she could place prescription bottles, checkbook, documents, etc. on & it increased the font size evenly. It's different that just a magnifying glass which just blows everything up so it gets big but grainy, blurry. Lighthouse has all sort of other super neat stuff for those with vision issues. We actually have a Lighthouse in my city (New Orleans) but they also have an on-line shop. Good luck with all this!