Commingling of finances

[fantonledzepp 159]

Why should we change "our plan"?

See above post Harpa.

[seth2013 39]

If this was mentioned before I apologize, I just skimmed.

Anyways, a lot of banks offer the service of changing an account to different type. For example, from a checking to a savings. My husband and I have separate checking accounts and one joint savings account. If you wanted, you could convert your account to a savings, deposit small amounts each month to continue building transaction history, and keep separate checking accounts to keep yourself from going crazy

Of course this is assuming you'd want a savings account, but most people do.

[fantonledzepp 159]

This might slightly deviate from your original question but I just wanted to share another option of having some sort of individual account with the other listed as a beneficiary. As one example, if you ever decide to pull some money out of your joint account and invest it in a Roth individual retirement account where you are the sole owner, you can list your spouse as the beneficiary. Vice versa with your wife having her own account and you as beneficiary. In such an instance, you each get to keep your money to yourselves while listing each other as beneficiaries and still remain safe with the immigration process. Of course, roth IRA is just one example of several investment options. Many people often overlook the fact that USCIS will consider joint or single owner with beneficiary investments as co-mingling of finances. This is just a food for thought if you ever think about it.

Thank you for the advice and the different perspective. I already have a Roth IRA and she is listed as my beneficiary. In addition to that, she is also my beneficiary on my pension.

[fantonledzepp 159]

If this was mentioned before I apologize, I just skimmed.

Anyways, a lot of banks offer the service of changing an account to different type. For example, from a checking to a savings. My husband and I have separate checking accounts and one joint savings account. If you wanted, you could convert your account to a savings, deposit small amounts each month to continue building transaction history, and keep separate checking accounts to keep yourself from going crazy

Of course this is assuming you'd want a savings account, but most people do.

Thanks for this. It never occurred to me to set up my current savings account to a joint account, I always thought: checking, checking and more checking, never savings. This will be a lot easier than having to get direct deposit on three checking accounts with two jobs. Thanks!