Can a joint owner of a bank account be a minor? Are there any hazards involved with that>

Adding a minor to your account will give the minor the same rights over the money as you have. The minor will be permitted to withdraw monies from the account.

In addition, if the minor racks up debt or is involved in a law suit, then the minro's creditors will try to claim an interest in the joint account.

I would start a small account for the minor and encourage him/her to save $.

If you set up an account in your child's name with you as custodian (UGMA/UTMA account - and very different from a JOINT account), you are making an irrevocable gift to your child. Once the money has been given to the child, it is owned by the child - which is why YOU do not have to pay tax on the earnings. The child owns the money, but you, as custodian control the money until the child reaches 18 or 21. The age of trust termination depends on the account type and the state you are in. The child then takes full control of the money at trust termination and you can no longer place restrictions on use of the money.

If you take back ownership of the money at a later date, the IRS will view this as if a "gift" had never taken place and you will (if caught) owe back taxes at your rate plus penalties. In extreme cases, your child could sue you for breach of fiduciary responsibility.

As custodian, you are allowed to spend the money for the benefit of the child as long as it does not fall under the category of "parental obligation" which is food, clothing, housing, etc. The money could be used to buy the child a computer, to pay for private school, college.