Felicia Tan was quoted in Lianhe Zaobao by Poh Lay Hoon, in an article on the costs of joint account ownership.

The article included Felicia’s comments on how one should be cautious before opening a joint bank account and must first understand the concept of right of survivorship.

She emphasised the need for co-signers to understand that (1) the surviving co-owner may not be the “owner” of the deposit, (2) even if only one of the co-signers owes the debt, the creditor may seize all the funds in the joint account, and (3) even if only one of the co-signers is investigated, all deposits in the joint account may be frozen by the police.

Felicia also mentioned how the Singapore courts have clarified that ownership is not the right way to look at joint shareholder accounts, but more of who has the right to withdraw cash or instruct the bank to make payments, and there is still a risk of dispute over ownership. She also advised that if one only wished to open a single bank account, it should not be a joint account.