If you are going through a divorce and your spouse withdrew money from your joint account which in turn made your check bounce what will happen to you since you don't have that cash on hand?

Answer 1

Talk to your attorney as soon as possible. The payee usually attempts to re-deposit the check (often times without you even being aware and without them needing your permission) within 10 days of the initial deposit. This can cause your bank account to be further overdrawn if the money is still unavailable. If the funds are insufficient after a certain amount of days (usually 10 to 20) then the payee can refer you to its debt collector (if its a company its usually run through your state government, or if it's a person it will go to their attorney). If it is still not paid, it constitutes passing a bad check and check fraud (which is a crime) and they can enact criminal proceedings against you. * Unintentionally "bouncing" a check is not a criminal offense. There is a big difference between NSF and criminal fraud. It would only be criminal if the person wrote the check on an account that did not exist or wrote the check with the intent defrauding the person or business it was written to. Whether it is to a business, personal or an ATM withdrawal it still remains a civil offense and is treated as such and only involves a state agency if the NSF check was written to a state or federal agency. A joint marital account can be used by either party, but the signer of the check is the person who is responsible. If the person cannot deposit the funds into the account to cover the check and the penalty fees, the account will be frozen, and the bank will use an set off if possible or pursue litigation to recover funds owed. Additionally the account holder will be likely be reported to Chex System.