Is there a resource out there for understanding when a check is made payable to.....then ......must endorse and the check must be deposited to ......account?

i.e.

Checks from insurance companies to multiple payees
Checks payable to custodians
Checks payable to Rep Payee FBO
Checks to trustee (s)
Checks payable to John and Jane
Checks payable to John or Jane
Checks payable to John and/or Jane

I am new to banking and I am looking for a resource

Thanks in advance for the assistance

Bump

Start with your state's version of Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) section 3-110 (the "model" version of that section can be read at http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/3/article3.htm#s3-110).


When multiple payees are listed "alternatively" (the language in subsection (d) of 3-110), they are joined by the word "or" as in "John Doe or Jane Smith" or "John or Jane Doe." Any one of the payees may indorse and negotiate the check.

When multiple payees are named "not alternatively," they are joined by the word "and" or by an ampersand ("&"). To be negotiated, the check must be indorsed by all the payees. A check payable to "John and Jane Smith" requires indorsements by both John Smith and Jane Smith"; a check payable to "John Smith and ABC Mortgage Company" must be indorsed by both John Smith and ABC Mortgage Company.

When "and/or" or simply "/" appears between the payee names, the payee designation is said to be "ambiguous," and you treat the check as if the payees are names alternatively (using "or").

When there is no conjunction or punctuation between the payees listed:

John Smith
Jane Smith
ABC Mortgage Company

.... the courts in most states treat the payees as being listed ambiguously, and any one payee may indorse and negotiate. Check with legal counsel familiar with the court rulings on this question in your state.

Thank you!

What part does the restrictive endorsement play? If i have a check made payable to John and Jane Doe and one writes for deposit only on the back of the check without their signature is this a correct endorsement?

John,

Is for deposit only-restrictive endorsement, considered a legitimate endorsement for checks made payable to a business? I have been told the name of the business must be part of the endorsement.

i.e.

instead of for deposit only
123456


ABC Inc
123456

For an indorsement to be complete, it must include the signature of the party making the indorsement. [Definition of indorsement in UCC 3-204(a)]

The signature can be anything that the parties agree to. For you and me, it's typically our handwritten signature. For a business, it's usually just the name of the business as part of an indorsement statement.

So then the question that begs to be asked, for consumer deposits, when we see a restricted endorsement "For Deposit Only" and the account # is this really an incomplete endorsement? One more question,why do we see the spelling of endorsement as indorsement? Was this the original spelling of the word?

Thanks for your patience and knowledge:)

The spelling can go either way, but you will find it with the "i" in the UCC (in most states).

Without the signature, the indorsement is incomplete. However, UCC 4-205 lets the bank accept the check without the indorsement and still become the holder (in due course). In other words, an incomplete indorsement is not an insurmountable hurdle.

I see,

Thank you again