Joint Account: Who's responsible for checks written after account closing?

Assuming A & B have a joint account, the UCC gives any party authorized to sign on an account the right to close it. If the account is closed and a check written by "A" is presented later, I assume your bank would return the item "account closed." Thus, your question must relate to liability to a third party, the payee or a holder, not your bank. (I assume you are not advising a customer on this issue.)

The UCC indicates that a person is not liable on a check unless he or she signed the check, thus liability should fall on the person who actually signed the item. If "A" wrote the check, "B" is not liable. However, some local prosecutors do not read the UCC when they pursue bad checks.

First published on BankersOnline.com 5/06/02