I received a check made payable to me and my wife. I endorsed the check and wrote "for deposit only" under my signature. I went to deposit the check into the jointchecking account that I have with my wife. The bank wouldn't accept the check and told me that my wife would also have to endorse the check. Why?
If you had not endorsed the check at all, the bank would have been able to accept it for deposit -- unendorsed -- to the joint account of the two named payees (you and your wife), but the law that allows the bank to do that (a provision in the Uniform Commercial code) is very specific -- the check must be unendorsed.
The bank now has to look at another part of the Uniform Commercial Code to determine which endorsements are required. If the check is payable to two people and their names are listed as payees and joined by the word "and" or an ampersand ("&"), both endorsements are required in order for the check to be properly negotiated.
Finally, even if the check were payable to either you OR your wife (the payee names not joined by "and" or "&"), the bank could require that both parties endorse, just to be on the safe side. The bank can refuse to accept any check for deposit, so you're pretty much required to follow the bank's rules.
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If you had not endorsed the check at all, the bank would have been able to accept it for deposit -- unendorsed -- to the joint account of the two named 