Answer:
Generally, if the person named in the levy is an owner on the account, the levy attaches.
There is no legal distinction between the "primary" and the "secondary" owner on a joint account. One owner is named first, the other owner is named second, nothing more. A levy in the name of either owner attaches.
There is also no distinction between whether the account is "business" or "personal." Again, the issue is ownership. A levy in the name and SSN of "John Doe" attaches to a sole proprietorship account "John Doe dba Bright Ideas" regardless of whether the account reflects John's SSN or an EIN. However, that same levy would not attach to the account of a corporation, partnership, or LLC on which John Doe was an authorized signer. That is true even if John was the sole shareholder of the corporation, a partner in the partnership, or even the sole member of the LLC. In those examples it is the entity that owns the funds, not the individual.
Obviously, that carries over to fiduciary relationships. Even though someone has exclusive control over the funds, the title and the documentation may tell you he is not the owner.
In processing third party claims you are depending on your co-workers to properly title and document accounts.
First published on BankersOnline.com 8/22/11
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