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Forged Endorsement Claim w/o Benefit to Spouse

Answered by: 
John Burnett

Question: 
We have been presented with a request to return funds for a forged endorsement on a check deposited here. The check in question is made payable to "wife," has a signature (which she claims is forged and that she did not receive any benefit from the check), then "husband" also endorsed and deposited a portion into their joint checking. He took cash for the rest. He has since closed the account. Would we be able to deny this claim since she did receive benefit from the check with the deposit to their joint checking? Or would we still have the liability since she claims it is not her signature?
Answer: 

At best, you might be able to convince a court that you should not be liable for the amount deposited to the joint account. Then the court might agree to determine how much of the money the wife should have received, and work on a net amount. Just be aware that if you want to challenge the claim, you'll have to decide first whether it's worth the time, cost and effort. If you have in-house counsel, ask if it's a good idea to try to work out a settlement.

First published on BankersOnline.com 12/03/12

First published on 12/03/2012

Filed under: 
Compliance
Filed under compliance as: 
Endorsement
IT

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