I have a jointchecking account with my elderly father, who is housebound. We live in separate states, and I never use it. A family member now staying with him is freely writing checks to herself for "services" and has learned to reproduce his signature. Is there a way I can limit the size of checks written on this account or do something else to prevent it from being emptied?
Contact the bank holding the account to tell them of the problem. You may not be able to recover any money that's already been taken from the account, but you certainly can take steps to prevent further use of the account by that family member, if that is what you feel must be done.
You and the family member involved should come to an understanding on money matters. If you need to retain control, you should remove the checkbook from the house and pay careful attention to activity in the account to ensure the bank isn't still allowing unauthorized access.
It's difficult to try to monitor accounts from a distance and still provide for your father's necessary expenses. Perhaps that responsibility should be assigned to someone closer to your father's residence, if possible.
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Contact the bank holding the account to tell them of the problem. You may not be able to recover any money that's already been taken from the account, but you certainly can take steps to prevent further use of the account by that family member, if that is what you feel must be done.