My daughter's friend decided to put my daughter's name on his checking account. She is 17 years old. The account is now overdrawn and the bank is calling her daily. Is she responsible for the account? What can we do?
In some states a 17 year old is able to contract on a checking account. If your state is one of these, and your daughter signed onto the account, she is an owner. She has rights to the funds in that account, and she has liability when there are monies owed due to fees or bad checks.
First, stop the bleeding. Speak with your friend and find out what has happened. Where are these charges coming from? Stop the check writing. Next, call the bank and try to determine how much is owed and what part of that is in fees from the bank. Ask them if they can waive any part of these fees. They often will, depending on the account relationship. Then you, your daughter and friend need to figure out who is paying the bank what amounts. As that account reaches a zero balance, the account may need to be closed so your daughter is no longer potentially taking on liabilities for anyone else.
BankingQuestions.com is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers. Advertisers are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankingQuestions.com FREE by supporting our advertisers. When you see an ad for a product or service you may have an interest in, click through to learn more.
Accounts
Article
Q&A
Podcast
Video
Blog
Discussions
PDF
Powerpoint
In some states a 17 year old is able to contract on a checking account. If your state is one of these, and your daughter signed onto the account, she is an owner. She has rights to the funds in that account, and she has liability when there are monies owed due to 