What are the Various Types of Joint Accounts in Banks?

An individual can open a bank account by being a single account holder or as a joint account holder with another person.

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However, there are can many types of joint accounts, which are:

1. Either or Survivor
   The majority of joint accounts are of “Either or Survivor” nature. This is because these can be accessed and managed by either of the account holders, i.e. the primary account holder as well as the secondary account holder.
   If one of the account holders passes away, then the account balance can be paid to the “survivor” account holder.
2. Anyone or Survivor
   This is similar to the joint account explained above. However, in this case, more than two people can operate the account. Thus, just like the “either or survivor”a joint account is a good option for a couple, the “anyone or survivor” is a good option for a family as a whole. This is because this type of joint account can be managed by all the family members.If an account holder dies, the remaining or “survivor” account holders can then operate the account and become the owner of the balance amount.
3. Validity
   An individual health insurance policy continues to be valid as long as the customer pays the premium on time. However, a group insurance policy ceases to be valid when an employee changes their company or resigns for some other reason.
4. Former or Survivor
   In this, only the primary account holder can operate the account. The secondary account holder gets access to the account when the primary account holder passes away.
5. Latter or Survivor
   This one is the opposite of the previous one. So, in this, the secondary account holder has the access to the account. The primary account holder can get the access to the same only if and when the second account holder passes away.

Important Thing to Note:

As per the RBI guidelines, if one of the account holders in a joint account passes away, then the survivor will hold the funds only as a trustee of the legal heirs unless they themselves are the legal heir. However, when the legal heir wants to claim the funds in the account, the bank shall make the payment to the survivor account holder.