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Home >> Checks/Money Orders >> Checks You Received
'And/or' on a Check Makes Me Nervous
I received a check from my insurance company for almost 50k. It was made payable to my mortgage company and/or "ATIMA" and myself. My insurance adjuster said that because the check said "and/or", it should be okay for me to endorse it and deposit with only my signature. I also put "for deposit only" on it and deposited it a week ago. My banker cannot tell me if it has cleared, but so far, it has not bounced. The bank hasn't put a hold on this money, but I am a little hesitant about using the money. What do you think is going to happen?
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 ATIMA on a check means "as their interests may appear," and it's legalese for "the listed payees other than the policy holder may or may not have an interest in the funds." The use of "and/or" in the payee list means that any of the payees can negotiate the check, so there's little likelihood you'll see it come back.
The mortgage company won't care unless you fail to complete the repairs for which the insurance payout was made. In that case, the mortgage company could complain to the insurance company, which could come back to you looking for the funds. In other words, if you make the repairs and the mortgage company's collateral position isn't hurt, you should be fine. By the way, except in states such as Florida and Georgia that have adopted shorter endorsement claim statutes, the claim period for endorsements is generally three years.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 8/18/10
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