Skip to content

Liability for overdraft in a joint account

Answered by: 

Question: 
If one owner of a joint account issues a check that overdraws the account balance, can the bank recover the overdraft balance from the other joint owner?
Answer: 

In most states, the Uniform Commercial Code, the joint owner would not be liable for the overdraft, but most institutions make the owners “jointly and severally” liable with a deposit contract provision. That means that each joint account owner is responsible for a negative balance in the account.
--------------------------
Learn more about John Burnett’s Avoiding Check Losses webinar.

First published on 06/05/2022

Search Topics