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Massachusetts Banking Questions & Answers
1 Answer | Asked in Banking and Collections for Massachusetts on
Q: Can a creditor for a deceased person take money from a joint bank account

I am a joint owner of a bank account with my mother who recently passed. There is not a lot of money involved. She passed with several thousands of medical bills. Can they take the money in the joint account?

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Mar 2, 2024

* If the bank account was jointly owned between you and your late mother, the creditor generally cannot take money from the account to pay off your mother's debts. Here are some key points:

* Joint bank accounts typically have a right of survivorship. This means that when one owner...
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1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Massachusetts on
Q: i just received an email threating legal actions for a debt, i believe it is a scam just wanted to confirm?
James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Feb 5, 2024

Yes, an email threatening legal action over a debt could very likely be a scam. Here are some tips on how to confirm:

- Verify the debt - Do you have any prior official documentation or validation of this specific debt? If not, it's likely not legitimate.

- Check email details...
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1 Answer | Asked in Banking and Civil Litigation for Massachusetts on
Q: Plaintiff has attorney attach writ of attachment for $25k & it’s recorded at registry of deeds is that total owed?

Judge said case we responsible above 20k but set to 25k writ of attachment of home

Is that all that will come from this civil lawsuit case

William J. Amann
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answered on May 24, 2023

The short answer is no. In addition to a real estate attachment, which the plaintiff will soon record, there should have been an accompanying Complaint. You will have to Answer that and defend the case or resolve/settle it. Hopefully, your total exposure is no greater than $25,000 but depending... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Massachusetts on
Q: Who or what type of law do I need for chase bank reporting my payment late without viable legal warrant. Who do I call?

Submitted a car payment to Chase Manhattan bank the same way I had previously got a confirmation receipt cheat code never was notified by Chase that the payment wasn’t received or did not go through so the next month I made the payment the same way and at that point was notified of the issues... View More

Christopher Tolley
Christopher Tolley
answered on Jan 4, 2023

If I understand correctly, you have made payments and submitted documentary evidence but Chase refuses to credit the payments to your account. Try contacting the Massachusetts Attorney General's consumer assistance division.... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Banking and Probate for Massachusetts on
Q: My wife and I live in Massachusetts. Fifteen or so years ago she opened a bank account in her name only.

She named her brother as recipient of the account if she were to die. As community property, shouldn't the funds come to me? Is what she did legal/legitimate?

Christopher Tolley
Christopher Tolley
answered on Oct 28, 2022

Massachusetts is not a community property state. The entitlement to the proceeds of the account are governed by whatever bank account agreement your wife signed when she opened the account. If the agreement states her brother is to receive the funds in the event of her death, that agreement is... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Contracts, Banking, Business Formation and Business Law for Massachusetts on
Q: How would a corporation sign legal documents ?

Id like to know if a corporation ( more specifically a Inc.) seeks to signs a legal document (e.g. bank loan, lease etc) how must the document be formally signed to be fully legal and valid?

Should the president of the corporation simply sign on behalf of the corporation as follows... View More

John Michael Frick
John Michael Frick
answered on Apr 17, 2024

The corporation can authorize anyone to sign on its behalf. It could be an officer of the corporation like the president, a vice president, or treasurer. It could be an employee. It could even be someone who does not work for the corporation at all.

Typically, either the corporation...
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1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning, Banking and Probate for Massachusetts on
Q: Does a revocable living trust need to be amended to remove a deceased co-trustee?

Bank is saying they cannot make changes to accounts in a trust's name because their documentation lists my deceased mother as a trustee, so changes (e.g. closing frozen accounts/transferring funds to new accounts) would require her signature... Is this accurate? Even though she is obviously... View More

Nina Whitehurst
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answered on Oct 2, 2022

You do not need to amend the trust, usually. The typical solution is to prepare an updated Certification of Trust that recites that the original trustee is deceased and identifies the successor trustee(s).

2 Answers | Asked in Real Estate Law and Banking for Massachusetts on
Q: Regarding an indorsement of a promissory note, does the "no space" test only apply to the originally printed side?

Does the "no space" test include using the backside of the original promissory note for an indorsement if that side of the paper is blank? Is there a citation for the actual wording of the "no space" test?

A "no space" test is showing that there is no room on... View More

Christopher Tolley
Christopher Tolley
answered on May 9, 2022

Please explain what you mean by the "no space" test.

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1 Answer | Asked in Real Estate Law and Banking for Massachusetts on
Q: There has been no answers and the 20 days is now 35.
Lillian J. LaRosa
Lillian J. LaRosa
answered on Jun 7, 2021

No question is posed to respond to .

1 Answer | Asked in Banking, Business Law, Contracts and Real Estate Law for Massachusetts on
Q: We have signed a P&S to sell a building in MA. The deposit check is in foreign currency. Can we void the contract?

The buyers declared residency as being CA, but have moved out of the country without disclosing that information to us. We're being told the check could take 6-8 weeks to clear. It has not been deposited. Their lawyer has not responded since we contacted them about the foreign bank/foreign currency.

Lillian J. LaRosa
Lillian J. LaRosa
answered on Sep 24, 2020

You need counsel to review the terms of your offer and acceptance and purchase and sale agreement carefully. Don't do anything at all yourself in this situation without good representation.

1 Answer | Asked in Banking, Estate Planning and Probate for Massachusetts on
Q: Can a housebound bank account holder let me log in on their behalf to initiate transfers?

My father died with a bank account with the name of an ex-fiancee still on it as a joint holder. She hasn't ever used the account as far as I can tell. She (and her current husband) want the money in the account to go to myself and my sister. Unfortunately she doesn't have an online login... View More

Lillian J. LaRosa
Lillian J. LaRosa
answered on Aug 6, 2020

Assuming your father was a Massachusetts resident for the comments: Are you the Personal Representative of your father's estate? If so, you need to contact the bank involved and provide them with your Letter of Authority and Federal Taxpayer ID for the estate and some form of authorization by... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Massachusetts on
Q: How do I proceed if a creditor is ignoring that I have an automatic stay?
Christopher Tolley
Christopher Tolley
answered on Apr 17, 2018

If you are currently in bankruptcy, you have not received a discharge and the case is still open, creditors are prohibited by the automatic stay in bankruptcy from taking acts to collect debts from you personally. If a creditor is seeking to collect a debt from you by writing letters, calling you,... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Banking, Business Formation and Business Law for Massachusetts on
Q: I am an equity partner in a company overseas and want to understand some details

If I am an equity partner in a company incorporated in EU, and that company wants to

1. wants to loan money to a company in US, is that possible/legal?

2. wants to open a bank account in US without incorporating in US, possible? How do I get a tax ID?

3. wants to pay me... View More

Jonathan R. Roth
Jonathan R. Roth
answered on Jul 20, 2017

A EU company depending upon the jurisdiction it is incorporated can loan money to a US corporation. The Amount of money that is required to be withheld will depend upon the tax treaty as well as the amount of tax it is required to pay to the US. The foreign entity will need to apply for and... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Consumer Law, Banking, Collections and Landlord - Tenant for Massachusetts on
Q: Someone stopped payment on a check owed me

Roommate guaranteed me if I left by a certain date she would give me my deposit back then stopped payment on her check

Ali Shahrestani,
Ali Shahrestani,
answered on Mar 24, 2017

See: http://www.mass.gov/courts/case-legal-res/law-lib/laws-by-subj/about/securitydeposits.html

If the security deposit was owed to you, you may be able to sue for failure to refund it in a timely manner. More details are necessary to provide a professional analysis of your issue. The best...
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