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Offset Question

If I owe money on my personal account, can the bank take money from my joint account without my permission if its the same bank?

Untitled

The transaction you described is called a right of offset. The bank owes you money, and you owe the bank money. Under certain circumstances the bank can take money from what it owes you to reduce what you owe the bank.

Offset rights are often established and/or limited under state laws. In general, all that is needed is that the obligations must be reciprocal. In other words, offset could not be used to take money from a business account on which you are an authorized signer to satisfy your personal debt to the bank, but if you are a joint owner of a deposit account, the bank is generally permitted to take funds from that account to offset your individual obligation, including an overdraft in your personal account.

Published on BankingQuestions.com 1/14/09