That is probably the way it should be done everywhere, but, Wisconsin has a law that states that, at the borrower's request, the lender has to issue the tax escrow money to the borrower, or to the borrower and the tax collector, and the borrower pays the taxes, if this is the way the borrower wants it done. After the borrower pays the taxes, s/he furnishes the lender with a copy of the paid receipt.
My question is if the check only has one borrower's name on it and there are two or more borrowers on the loan, is the lender in violation of state law? By the time a lender puts the name of the tax collector and the name of one borrower on the check, there is not enough room left to add names of other borrowers. Doing this gives one borrower access to funds that belong to all borrowers. So, I am trying to find out if we have to list the names of all the borrowers on the check or can we just list the primary borrower.
The law also indicates that this is for "required" escrow accounts. So, does this mean that if the lender is not requiring the borrower to establish an escrow account, that the law does not apply?