I had a joint account with my ex-gf. After we split up she withdrew all the funds out of the account before I had a chance to close it. Thing is I worked and she didn't so she took all my damn cash. Since she was on the account there was nothing I could do to get my money back. Lesson learned. With my current gf (over 4 years together) we have separate checking accounts and a "joint" savings that is in my name. I feel a lot safer with this sort of setup after the ex burned me.