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Maryland Banking Questions & Answers
2 Answers | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: bank clear counterfeit check tells me they aren't liable

Bank being very vague about whether I will get money back on counterfiet checks they cleared.

Scott Scherr
Scott Scherr
answered on Sep 19, 2024

If you cashed or deposited a counterfeit check, the bank is generally not liable. They may have made the funds available to you, but that does not mean the bank must eat the loss.

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1 Answer | Asked in Bankruptcy, Contracts, Arbitration / Mediation Law and Banking for Maryland on
Q: Can my car lease be repossessed from defaulting on a unsecured credit card within the same bank?

I am looking into joining a debt relief program and before doing so, I am concerned that not paying/defaulting one of my unsecured credit card debts that will be included in the program with Chase Bank will then cause them to repo my vehicle which is also a lease through Chase Bank. I also have a... View More

James L. Arrasmith
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answered on Jul 24, 2024

When you default on an unsecured credit card, it doesn’t automatically lead to the repossession of your leased vehicle. Typically, the repossession of a vehicle is associated with missed payments on the auto lease itself, not other unrelated debts. However, banks can cross-check their records,... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Contracts and Banking for Maryland on
Q: Does the dawer of a negotiable instrument such as a check have the right to get the amount even if it’s not in the acc?

A bill of exchange such as a check is payable on demand and if it isnt, the bank is obligated to pay it according to the Bill of Exchange correct?

Kenesha A Raeford
Kenesha A Raeford
answered on May 15, 2024

In your specific example, with a check, the answer is almost always no. I don't know of any bank that would issue payment to a check payee when there are insufficient funds in the account. When a customer sets up an account with the bank they usually sign an agreement that entitles them to be... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: I have a business account that became dormant and I'm trying to reactivate it and avoid the bank from closing it.

I'm overseas and cannot go to the bank in the U.S. to deal with the problem. I'm worried that they would close my account and issue a check - the problem is that the company name has been changed (and I didn't get to notify the bank) so I cannot deposit the check to a business... View More

Kenesha A Raeford
Kenesha A Raeford
answered on Jan 29, 2024

All of the questions you are asking are specific to policies and procedures that are at the discretion of your banking institution. In other words, whether or not the account is actually dormant, how to prevent the bank from closing the account, and how to ensure it is reactivated, is solely... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Criminal Law, Tax Law, Banking and Federal Crimes for Maryland on
Q: I lied and disputed 1,500 from betmgm. There's already 1,200 in the account that the bank gave back. Can I be arrested?

Hello, I made a stupid decision. I opened an m&t checking and savings account last month on the 18th. A few days ago, I downloaded bet mgm (an online gambling site) and placed a few bets. I had just gotten paid 1,000 from my current job.. So I bet with that money and ended up with $1500. So... View More

Scott Scherr
Scott Scherr
answered on Nov 3, 2023

You should stop posting information online since you have admitted to a crime. You could be charged with fraud and theft. I would not speak further with anyone about this case. You should retain counsel if you are charged.

1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: My friend (also account holder) closed my CD account and withdraw the money. Do I have legal recourse to get it back?

Recently, a close friend and I had a falling out. In retaliation against me, she accessed my Certificate of Deposit account without my authorization, closed it, and transferred the money to one of her accounts. The bank says that she was also a primary account holder and, due to the Terms and... View More

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Oct 4, 2023

It’s either a civil suit to recover the money, or a criminal case of theft (depending on the joint account relationship), or both. Lawyer charge by the hour, so if the amount is under $5000 then you’re better off suing on your own. Not sure if the police would file criminal charges based on a... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Criminal Law, Banking, Civil Litigation and Small Claims for Maryland on
Q: I deposited a check in my account for my friend and gave them the money it was fake can I sue them?

It’s been five years since this happened and they almost always promised to start paying me back and never did and we are no longer friends and I’m left with this debt. It’s $3283.

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Jul 12, 2023

The statute of limitations for commencing a civil suit is 3 years, so that has expired. You can file the lawsuit, but if the defendant raises the statute of limitations as a defense, you lose. It is an affirmative defense, so the defendant has to raise it or he waives it. Your facts also support... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: Someone hacked into my school email and impersonated a professor and scammed me for $1900 can I sue my school.

I got an email from my school and the person said they were hiring students for a research position. In the email they said to contact my professor from the English department to submit my resume. They sent me a check from an email that ended in edu. I trusted the check and it was successfully... View More

John Michael Frick
John Michael Frick
answered on Apr 24, 2023

Without evidence that your school was somehow involved in the scam, I don’t see much likelihood for success.

Internet scammers often impersonate other email accounts in order to hide their identities. I think it is highly likely your school was not involved

1 Answer | Asked in Banking and Constitutional Law for Maryland on
Q: Are bank account maintance fees constutional?
Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Jul 2, 2022

They are not unconstitutional.

1 Answer | Asked in Banking and Civil Litigation for Maryland on
Q: What quailifies somone as a convinice oerson on a joint account. Does it have to be expressly stated?

Can the role of convenice person be presumed based on who added money to the account and how it was used if nothing was expressly stated in the account agreement?

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Mar 19, 2022

If two person's names are listed as joint account holders, and there is no designation otherwise, the law presumes the account is joint owners with right of survival, and both account holders have equal access to the funds from the bank's perspective. However, if there is an agreement... View More

2 Answers | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: Can I open an UTMA for a 15 year old?

I was under the impression that once a child was over 13 years old, an UTMA could not be established as a savings, it is then a youth savings or joint. What is the case, I can find a lot of information on disbursements of UTMA but nothing on establishing. This is an UTMA unrelated to Title 13

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Jan 8, 2022

UTMA stands for Uniform Transfer to Minors Act and is governed by Title 13 of the Estates and Trust Code, so claiming an UTMA account isn't governed by Title 13 will do you no good. There is no age 13 limit. The age of majority in Maryland is 18, so any person under 18 is a... View More

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1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: How do we find out WHO the designated beneficiary is on my mother‘s dead BF‘s bank ACCT ? They won’t tell us & she’s bed

She is bedbound with expired ID but quite lucid

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Nov 4, 2021

Only the beneficiary named on the account or the Personal Representative appointed to act on behalf of the deceased account holder's estate is entitled to that information. If your mother cannot communicate directly with the bank, but is mentally competent, then she might execute a power of... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Banking, Contracts and Real Estate Law for Maryland on
Q: Good evening. I bought a house with a girlfriend in November of 2014. At the time of buying we had been together about

a year and a couple years. Fast forward we ended up breaking up in June of 2018. Quick detail, her father 'gifted her' $265,000, which is what was used to buy the house. Each month I would pay her Father $1,000, 'morgage' I would also pay USAA home insurance and property taxes... View More

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Jul 24, 2021

You fail to identify whose name(s) is/are on the deed. That will determine legal title and ownership. If your name is not on the deed, then you are left with a claim to some equitable ownership interest based on your $1,000 monthy payment toward repaying the $265,000 "loan" to buy the... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: Hello, my boyfriend temporally lives in Frankfurt Germany and he is having issues with his online bank.

He is a surgeon for WHO in Frankfurt Germany and having issues with his online bank. His online bank put his account under dormant. He needs to access his account but also having issues with server there. He asked me if I can access his account and gave me the password and account number. My... View More

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Jul 13, 2021

If you are acting with the permission of the account holder, at his direction, then you are not committing any crime. If the bank has an internal policy regarding its account customers granting others access to their online accounts, then that is a civil contractual matter between the bank and... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: Advice for answer to Bank Law Suit.

Defaulted on unsecured credit card and LOC payments .

Bank filed a Law-suit, and Court has given 30 days (04/13/21 received on 4/29/21) for Pleading or Motion.

Fines and penalties aside, the Bank’s claim is right. But I have no money or personal things, to pay. I live and survive... View More

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on May 4, 2021

I’d be concerned if you owned real property in your sole name, but other than that, you sound judgment proof. If you do own a home, and it’s tiled as tenants by the entirety with your wife, then that property is safe. They can’t attach SSI with a garnishment even if it was your SSI, but they... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Banking and Business Formation for Maryland on
Q: Can a minor operate a bank account for a business?

I'm an 16 year old trying to start a non-profit. As a minor, am I allowed to operate the bank account for my non-profit?

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Feb 1, 2021

Until you turn 18, you are deemed a minor without legal capacity to enter into binding enforceable contracts. That means no other parties will agree to do business with you if they know you are a minor. Banks require that you show photo ID and proof of age, so you cannot open an account solely in... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Estate Planning and Banking for Maryland on
Q: Rules on checks written to minors. How do you do this correctly?

Can I write a check to my 2 year old grandson in his name. Of course, his father would have to endorse it. Would he have to set up a new account for the child?I recall getting a check as a child and it read pay to the order of my name (minor).

Please let me know. Thank-you

Cedulie Renee Laumann
Cedulie Renee Laumann
answered on Jan 18, 2021

Maryland law allows for minors to hold funds in special accounts under the Uniform Gift to Minors Act. Such accounts have the minor's name PLUS an adult "custodian" who acts on behalf of the minor until they reach majority. The funds belong to the minor but the adult can make... View More

1 Answer | Asked in Consumer Law, Small Claims, Tax Law and Banking for Maryland on
Q: Can I take legal actions towards my financial advisor for being dishonest?

So in January my mom got a letter from her financial advisor which was from the IRS telling her that she had to fill out a W-9 because the social security she had in her account was wrong. My mom immediately took action and we went to our financial advisor office to correct the social security... View More

Marie-Yves Nadine Jean-Baptiste
Marie-Yves Nadine Jean-Baptiste
answered on Sep 19, 2020

Contact the IRS to verify.

1 Answer | Asked in Banking for Maryland on
Q: Can I press charges if I was given a fake check which took me a $30 stop payment fee check after cancelling the deposit?

Some men messaged me. He told me he'd give me an "allowance" and he said we needed to do a test in for him to know that he can trust me. He sent me a check and told me to deposit it and I did. Then I got scared and after doing some research I realized that he was doing a popular... View More

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Jun 24, 2020

Yes. Call the police and provide the email address, telephone numbers, names, whatever it is you have. My guess is the scammer is too smart to use anything traceable back to him, but that's an issue for the police to figure out.

1 Answer | Asked in Banking, Insurance Defense and White Collar Crime for Maryland on
Q: If I have been falsely accused of forging personal checks by a life insurance company what can I do to prove my innocene

If I was made the beneficiary of an anuity and the life insurance company the anuity was through says that their "signature expert" says that checks that were signed by the anuity holder and issued to me as reimbursement dont match alleging that they may have been forged what can I do to... View More

Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
answered on Jun 2, 2020

It is unclear whether you have actually been charged with a crime, or whether the insurance company holding the annuity account is simply dishonoring the checks written by the owner of the account. Ideally, the account owner can clear this up by confirming the signatures on the checks is... View More

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