Gordon Powers  As parents age, it's not unusual for them to open
a joint bank account with one or more of their adult children.
In some cases, this is simply to allow someone else to do the
banking and pay the bills, with no thought of that child
receiving the money upon the parent's death. Others do it to
avoid provincial probate taxes upon death, fully intending that
the child on the joint account gets the money directly.  Probate
fees are a tax paid in most provinces when a will is registered
with the courts. Upon death, the fee is calculated on the value
of the estate's assets. Since jointly owned assets don't form
part of the estate, they're not subject to probate — an
appealing option in high-probate-fee provinces such as Ontario
and British Columbia.  Too often though, the parent's intentions
are unclear and costly family squabbles surface between brothers
and sisters. Confused parents may say one thing to one child and
give a conflicting story to another.  And then, of course, there
are the actual re