Here in Australia you have to have your spouses permission to do anything when it comes to joint accounts etc, my hubby has a hard time understanding (his hearing isn't great) foreign workers talking on the phone so he tells them to talk to me but they say they can't he has to discuss things if it is his card or account ( we have seperate mad money accounts). We use to be able to sign a form giving permission but they don't do that anymore and now they say if he wants me to discuss things then I would need power of attorney to do this. Same with many bills elec/gas etc only 1 name can be on it and the other person can't discuss it because it's not under heir name. I get privacy etc but we are married. I have told them that if he dies and owes them money don't come talk to me about it because it's not my issue, they say well your married...and I say you can't have it both ways you can't not discuss things with me about an account for privacy reasons even though we have said its fine to discuss with either of us, bit then if something happens you want the other to pay....nope sorry doesn't work that way. I just opened another account in my name only and gave him the card so any issues I can just call about it...and we closed his account when they asked why we told them why...they didn't like but but oh well.
So just wondering if the US is like this or is it much easier as a married couple to deal with these issues...it wasn't like this until a year or so ago...but it is frustrating
March 12th, 2026 at 10:50 pm 1773355837
March 13th, 2026 at 01:28 pm 1773408539
March 13th, 2026 at 05:52 pm 1773424323
When I recently had a small pension (that I owned before I was married), I had to submit copies of birth certificates for me and my spouse and a form signed by my spouse before I could roll it over into my IRA.
March 14th, 2026 at 03:56 pm 1773503772
But in terms of account access, either spouse can independently access funds in a joint account without permission of the other. In cases of divorce or separation, draining a joint account without permission could lead to a court order to replace the funds and other legal repercussions, which vary by state. Nine states in the U.S. are community property states, which regard all assets, even those in individually titled accounts, as "marital property" (and belonging 50% to each spouse) if acquired during the marriage. (The means of acquisition matters; gifts and inheritances are still regarded as individual property even in a community property state unless they are put into a joint account.)
March 15th, 2026 at 09:39 pm 1773610754
March 16th, 2026 at 08:53 am 1773651212
It’s a thoughtful point you raise—policies should balance privacy with practicality, and your workaround of opening an account in your own name is something many couples might consider when facing the same roadblocks.