|
 |
Home >> Accounts >> Checking Accounts
Wait to Close Account for One Check?
I have a checking account I want to close, but there is an outstanding check that I wrote on the December 4, 2008. The payee has not cashed it. I told him in February that I was going to close the account. What is my obligation with this check? Do I have to keep the account open beyond six months after the check was written, or can I close it now? What liability do I have after I close the account?
|
Untitled
|
 If the payee cashes the check after six months have passed and your bank pays the check (it can ignore the date), you'd be liable for it. However, you can ask the bank if it actually closes the account so that no activity, including the old check, can post, or merely brings the account to a zero balance.
If there is a chance that the check will be presented and that the bank will pay it, you can protect yourself by issuing a stop payment on the check when you close the account. That stop order should prevent the check from posting for six months, and by then the account should be completely off the bank's books. The cost of the stop order may be well worth it. An alternative would be simply closing the account without stopping payment, if the bank assures you in writing that the account is actually close and the old check won't be paid or generate an overdraft fee.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 7/07/09
|
| |
|
Accounts
Article
Q&A
Podcast
Video
Blog
Discussions
PDF
Powerpoint
