M
mlaemmle
Guest
What is the name of your state? Washington
Probably six years back I opened up a checking account with Washington Mutual. At the time, for some reason or another--no credit cards, not enough identification, something or other--I had to hold the account jointly with somebody, and because i was in the company of my sister-in-law, and because she was someone whom i trusted, I chose her. As a joint account holder, she had the right to make withdrawals, transfers, deposits and the like. Now, she really had no involvement with the account, and was there simply because of the formal requirements of WaMu--it was all my money going in, and all my money coming out. My sister-in-law, not too far back, transferred many of hundreds dollars from the account we "shared" to one of her other accounts that i had no access to. She withdrew the money from that account and used it on who knows what. Contacting Washington Mutual, I found that my sister-in-law seemed to have a right to withdraw the money--I didn't go too much into the details of the issue, just asked a broad question about the rights of "secondary" holders of joint accounts. After much bad blood, we seem to be working the issue out, my brother claiming he will replace the money, and I would prefer not to get courts involved. However, should the need arise, I would like to know: did my sister-in-law really have a right to money in that account? If my brother refused to replace the money his wife withdrew, would i have any legal recourse?
Probably six years back I opened up a checking account with Washington Mutual. At the time, for some reason or another--no credit cards, not enough identification, something or other--I had to hold the account jointly with somebody, and because i was in the company of my sister-in-law, and because she was someone whom i trusted, I chose her. As a joint account holder, she had the right to make withdrawals, transfers, deposits and the like. Now, she really had no involvement with the account, and was there simply because of the formal requirements of WaMu--it was all my money going in, and all my money coming out. My sister-in-law, not too far back, transferred many of hundreds dollars from the account we "shared" to one of her other accounts that i had no access to. She withdrew the money from that account and used it on who knows what. Contacting Washington Mutual, I found that my sister-in-law seemed to have a right to withdraw the money--I didn't go too much into the details of the issue, just asked a broad question about the rights of "secondary" holders of joint accounts. After much bad blood, we seem to be working the issue out, my brother claiming he will replace the money, and I would prefer not to get courts involved. However, should the need arise, I would like to know: did my sister-in-law really have a right to money in that account? If my brother refused to replace the money his wife withdrew, would i have any legal recourse?