Giving your PIN to your son

Health issues made movement challenging for Mr. A so he gave his eldest son his debit card and personal identification number (PIN) to make purchases on his behalf. Mr. A completed a joint power of attorney (POA) naming his two sons as his attorneys. Soon after, Mr. A's personal bank account was converted into a joint account with his eldest son.

A few months later, Mr. A had an accident which resulted in a lengthy hospitalization. During this time Mr. A's daughter reviewed her dad's finances. She discovered that her older brother had withdrawn $5,900 for his own use without Mr. A's knowledge. She suspected her brother had used the POA to convert Mr. A's account to a joint account with himself.

Ms. S complained to her father's bank, arguing that it should have refused to act on her brother's instructions to make the account joint given that the joint POA required the younger brother to also authorize the change. She advised that her older brother often asked Mr. A to sign papers, which Mr. A did not understand in his deteriorating health and mental state.

The bank reviewed the matter and concluded that the POA had not been used. The personal bank account had been converted into a joint account upon completion of a “conversion application form" which had Mr. A's authorizing signature. It reminded Mr. A and his daughter that both accountholders have equal, independent access to the funds in a joint account. Furthermore, it observed that Mr. A had previously allowed account access by providing his debit card and PIN to his eldest son. It did not offer compensation.

Unsatisfied with this response, Mr. A's daughter complained to OBSI on his behalf.

Complaint not upheld

We investigated to determine whether the bank properly followed its established procedures in converting Mr. A's personal account to a joint account. We confirmed that the bank relied on the signed conversion application form, not the POA. In fact, the bank was not even in possession of the POA document. There were no indications that the application form was manipulated. We also observed that the bank was not notified that Mr. A was not competent to manage his affairs and therefore would not have questioned Mr. A's properly completed form. While we sympathized with Mr. A's situation we did not have any basis to recommend compensation.

(2013)