An Interactive Brokers account owned by two individuals. A Joint Account can be associated with one of four client types:

  • Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship – A form of ownership in which two or more parties have equal interests in the account and in which title to the entire account goes to the survivor(s) upon the death of one of the account holders. This process avoids court probate of the property, but may have some tax consequences which should be reviewed with a tax advisor prior to opening the account.
  • Community Property – Community Property is property received by a husband and wife during the marriage, except inheritances and specific gifts to one of the spouses. This form of ownership is recognized only in certain states which have community property laws and each spouse has an undivided one-half interest in the account. The states with community property laws at this time are: Louisiana, Arizona, California, Texas, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Wisconsin. Upon the death of one spouse, the community property in the account generally passes to the other spouse with certain exceptions, including Texas, Nevada and New Mexico.
  • Tenants in Common – A form of ownership by two or more persons in which each person has an undivided interest in the account even though the percentage of interests may not be equal. Unlike joint tenants, there is no right of survivorship if one of the account holders dies. Upon the death of one tenant in common, a probate proceeding (court-supervised administration of the estate of the deceased) must be held to transfer the ownership interest in the account. This type of joint account requires that you enter ownership percentages in the account application.
  • Tenancy by the Entirety – A form of ownership where the owners are married and each spouse has an equal and undivided interest in the property (e.g., each spouse mutually owns the property). If one spouse was to die, the full title of the property passes to the surviving spouse.