Q: My father and I went into his bank and I opened an acct in my name and we deposited checks that were payable to him.
The banker, who was with us from start to finish, neglected to have him endorse the checks, but he was fully present and agreed to the deposit. None of the money was spent until a few weeks later, when, unbeknownst to me, my brother got the bank to move the entirety of the funds from my acct (I was the only name on the acct) and put it in my dad's acct. The bank says they could do this (even though several weeks had passed) since he had not endorsed the checks. I opened the acct to keep the money safe and to be able to move it into his acct to pay his bills as needed. Once my dad realized that the ATM would "keep giving him money", he spent it all, which was exactly what I was trying to prevent. Since the bank person physically handled the opening of the acct and handled the checks in front of both my father and me but neglected to have him endorse the checks, is the bank negligent and liable for replacing that money?
A: A check is not valid unless it is endorsed by the person who is cashing it. Therefore, you cannot deposit an unendorsed check. You have no recourse against the bank.
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