My four-month-old son received a check from a family member with him as the payee. How do I go about cashing it?
In most cases, you could go to your bank and explain the situation. The teller will often allow you to endorse it for your child, and they'll negotiate it for you. It may be helpful if you have your child's Social Security card with you as evidence.
This may also be an opportunity for you to open a savings account for your child. Ask your bank about a trust account, in which you manage the funds for your child, who owns them. Interest is taxable to the child, he cannot make withdrawals until the age of majority, but you can make withdrawals for his benefit. Often these accounts can have low minimum balance requirements to avoid fees and you don't need any trust documents from an attorney. The bank can do it all for you just by opening the account.
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.