Q: My wife had our joint tax refund deposited directly into her personal account. Do I have any legal right to get half of
Can I write a check on her own personal checking account to get half of it back?
A: You can't write a check drawn on your wife's account if you're not listed with the bank as a person authorized to do so. If there is a pending divorce case, let your lawyer know what she did as quickly as possible (before the refund is spent), especially if there is a court order providing something else was to be done with the check. If there is no divorce pending, it can't hurt to ask her for half and see what happens. Depending on the size of the check you can complain to the bank that they accepted a check you had not endorsed that should not have been accepted without your signature for deposit in someone else's account -- even if it is your wife's account.
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