Liability of joint owner of bank account?
Question Details:
I opened a minor account with my son when he was 16. After he turned 18 the account turned into a regular savings account, however I was still on as a joint account owner. I called the bank to be taken off and was told that I must appear in the bank with my son to be taken off. I live over 500 miles away now. My son and someone else devised a plan to deposit a check for $5,000, and then withdraw the money before it cleared. The check bounced and now I'm responsible for recovering the money because he cannot be located. There's a freeze on my bank account for this. What can I do?I s there a way not to be responsible for the fraudulent charges?
Business Law Answers
There probably is not much that you will be able to do about this, until and unless you can locate your son, because he's the only person you can go after for this. When you open a bank account, you agree to make good any checks you deposit that don't clear, as part of that fine-print form you sign. In this case, since you're on the account, you're jointly liable with your son for the bounced check.
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