Yes, a minor can hold an account in joint ownership with another party, such as a parent.

The Illinois Banking Act permits banks to open accounts for minors, “and the rules and regulations of such bank . . . shall be as binding upon such minor as if such minor were of full age and legal capacity.” The teenager’s signature on the joint account agreement should be sufficient to create their joint ownership (along with a right of survivorship) in the account pursuant to this provision in the law. We also note that the Illinois Joint Tenancy Act does not prevent a minor from jointly owning an account with another party.

Your rights of setoff against this joint account should be no different than the rights your bank has with respect to its other joint accounts. In general, we recommend placing appropriate language that creates a contractual right of setoff in the account agreement or on the account’s signature card, with respect to both the joint account and the parent’s other accounts at your bank. Even in the absence of such language, at least one Illinois court has held that a joint account owner is liable for overdrafts caused by another joint account owner. However, we do recommend making this clear with language expressly holding one joint owner liable for another joint owner’s overdrafts, with a right of setoff that covers the joint owners’ individual accounts held at the bank.

Regarding documentation for the minor, we recommend following your bank’s customer identification program (CIP) policies with respect to the minor as you would with any other new customer. Although the federal CIP regulations do not address specific requirements for minors, interagency guidance clarifies that a bank can use any reasonable documentary or non-documentary method to verify a minor’s identity, such as through a student identification card.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Illinois Banking Act, 205 ILCS 5/45.1 (“A state bank may accept deposits made by a minor and may open an account in the name of such minor and the rules and regulations of such bank with respect to each such deposit and account shall be as binding upon such minor as if such minor were of full age and legal capacity.”)

• Joint Tenancy Act, 765 ILCS 1005/2(a) (“When a deposit in any bank . . . transacting business in this State has been made or shall hereafter be made in the names of 2 or more persons payable to them when the account is opened or thereafter, the deposit or any part thereof or any interest or dividend thereon may be paid to any one of those persons whether the other or others be living or not, and when an agreement permitting such payment is signed by all those persons at the time the account is opened or thereafter the receipt or acquittance of the person so paid shall be valid and sufficient discharge from all parties to the bank for any payments so made.”)

• Bray v. Illinois Nat. Bank of Springfield, 345 N.E.2d 503, 505 (4th Dist. 1976) (“It is clear under the [Joint Tenancy Act] and the cases that no joint account was created. . .  [The Joint Tenancy Act] has consistently been interpreted to mean that a joint tenancy with the right of survivorship cannot be created in a deposit account except by parties signing an agreement such as the signature card provides.”)

• Pacenta v. Am. Sav. Bank, 552 N.E.2d 1276, 1276–1277, 1280 (4th Dist. 1990) (“The trial court held that the defendant bank had the lawful right to charge back against plaintiff’s individual account the amount of an overdraft created in a joint checking account to which her husband and the plaintiff were cosignatories. We affirm. . . . [P]ublic policy requires that one who has established a joint account be held liable, to the extent of his funds held in other accounts in that bank, for the amount of credit the bank gives the joint account, and for any overdrafts which result from this credit, regardless of who personally presents the check on that account. Such a bank has the right, under the Code, to unilaterally charge this debt against any account the plaintiff customer may have with the bank, including plaintiff’s individual account or CD, regardless of whether the account card has a specific indemnification clause for the bank.”)

• Selby v. DuQuoin State Bank, 223 Ill.App.3d 105, 108 (5th Dist. 1991) (“[A] plain reading of the set-off provision of the signature-card agreement indicates to this court that the Bank asserted a right to set off each depositor’s debts or obligations owing to the Bank against the deposit account and that each depositor recognized this right of the Bank to set off either depositor’s debts against the joint account. . . . because the joint depositors, Smith and plaintiff, agreed that the Bank’s right of setoff applied to the joint account for a debt or obligation owing by either of them, the Bank’s setoff of these funds was proper.”)

• CIP Regulations, 31 CFR 1020.220(a)(2) (The CIP regulations require you to collect the following information from every customer: (1) name, (2) address, and (3) taxpayer identification number.)

• Interagency FAQs on Customer Identification Programs (April 28, 2005) (“Question 6. Does the CIP rule prohibit a minor from opening an account? Answer. No, the CIP rule does not bar a minor from opening an account. . . . For example, where a bank sends its employees to elementary schools so that students may open savings accounts as part of a program to promote financial literacy, a student opening an account is the bank’s customer. In this situation, as for all customers, the bank should get the name, address, date of birth, and taxpayer identification number of the student. Since verification procedures are risk-based, banks can use any reasonable documentary or non-documentary method to verify a student’s identity. In this case, the bank might verify a student’s identity using a student identification card or by having the student’s teacher confirm the student’s identity.”)