Using another's bank account

[monster1234]

[backtoschool]

What are legal ramifications of using a bank account that is in my mother’s name (she lives in another state) to pay bills? It won’t have large sums, I will only deposit enough money to pay bills, mortgage, utilities, groceries, etc.

I am not ready to file for BK as I am working with mortgage company on a modification, but I did not answer a summons rec’d in mid-August 2009 for a repo vehicle from last year, I’m sure they will receive a judgement and I am worried about bank account being frozen. I live in Florida. Thanks.

I am assuming you will do everything by electronic transfer? You can't write checks on an an account you are not partial owner of.

Also, a lot of ACH transfers will ask you to click a button stating that you are the owner of the account when you set them up online. Lying is fraud and it could come back to bite you.

Visa debit cards have fraud protection software associated with them that will detect that a lot of charges are going to a different name and address than the owner's address, and they might not approve the charges. It would be better to be an authorized user on the visa debit card, then to just use it in your mother's name, but many banks won't allow this, if your name is not on the bank account.

[TrailerTrash]

You really won't get in any trouble, but your mom on the other hand is liable for anything you do. The bank if the found out will freeze the account until your mom agrees to stop you from using it. But to have your money direct deposited in and your moms accounts then she hands you cash back is no big deal. The only problem you really have with using a bank account that is not yours is if something happens to mom you can't get your money out.

There is no legitimate reason to need to use someone else's bank account. Any banking you need to do, if you tell us here we can guide you through how to either deal with not having a bank account or how to set one up so your in good shape.

[BigJohn]

I am assuming you will do everything by electronic transfer? You can't write checks on an an account you are not partial owner of.

Also, a lot of ACH transfers will ask you to click a button stating that you are the owner of the account when you set them up online. Lying is fraud and it could come back to bite you.

Visa debit cards have fraud protection software associated with them that will detect that a lot of charges are going to a different name and address than the owner's address, and they might not approve the charges. It would be better to be an authorized user on the visa debit card, then to just use it in your mother's name, but many banks won't allow this, if your name is not on the bank account.

I agree with the above. If your mother lives too far away, you might not be able to ven use a debit card. The credit card might call asking if 'you' are really 'there'.

[junker]

i have used my roommates bank acct for over 20 years with no problems, the problem arises if you add yourself to the acct, as they will want your ss number.. as long as you just use it for bill pay and deposits you should be fine. i use her debit card all the time... i recently was made power of attorney on her acct which also makes it easier to write checks...with poa ....you also dont need to give YOUR ss number... in florida be careful if it is compass bank though...they are absolutely the worst....once froze and closed my acct for gambling...even though it was legal gambling....

[backtoschool]

i have used my roommates bank acct for over 20 years with no problems, the problem arises if you add yourself to the acct, as they will want your ss number.. as long as you just use it for bill pay and deposits you should be fine. i use her debit card all the time... i recently was made power of attorney on her acct which also makes it easier to write checks...with poa ....you also dont need to give YOUR ss number... in florida be careful if it is compass bank though...they are absolutely the worst....once froze and closed my acct for gambling...even though it was legal gambling....

You got away with using your roommate's account for bill pay and debits, but it is fraud if you are not authorized on the account. You may never get caught, but the OP was asking about the legal ramifications and I think its important to know that you are not legally allowed to use the account even though its relatively easy to get away with using the account.

[Clouddancer]

If you have a judgment against you, and you deposit your check in your spouses bank account, can a creditor take that judgment and garnish her account even though you are not on the account?

[backtoschool]

If you have a judgment against you, and you deposit your check in your spouses bank account, can a creditor take that judgment and garnish her account even though you are not on the account?

No. As long as your name is not on the account, and as long as your spouse's name is not on the debt or the judgement, you should be fine.

[junker]

you did ask about the LEGAL ramifications....fraud in its brodest sense is deceiving someone....you arent deceiving your mother are you? she knows what you are doing. depositing money and putting your bills on bill pay right? then you arent deceiving anyone yet....the problem would be IF and WHEN you get a judgement....which you say you arent aware of and dont even know if you have one...and they call you in for a debt exam before a judge...then it could get tricky....but as of NOW it is not a crime to use your mothers acct......i have had many judgements over the years and only one exam in small claims court 25 years ago....and they didnt even ask for bank info..... technically if we are talking FRAUD..... if the posters on this forum tell all the world here they are INTENDING to file bk...and continue to max out their cards before filing......they are committing fraud.....but has anyone been arressted by the fraud police.......

also to the other poster.......if you are in a COMMUNITY PROPERTY STATE...which you didnt mention.....YES....they can sieze the check in spouses account.......

[backtoschool]

Thanks backtoschool for the informative answers. I have never indulged in such transactions just because of the confusion involved.

Welcome to the board andybell.

I thing a prepaid debit card is always a better choice if you are worried about creditor's seizing a bank account. AAA has refillable prepaid debit cards for $5 with no monthly fees and unlimited refills. That is what I used when I was worried about creditor's finding my bank account.

[monster1234]

Pros/cons of using prepaid debit card?

Thanks to everyone for the info. Yes, my Mom would know I would be using her account. I guess using a prepaid debit card is the best way to go for now. Anyone know the pros/cons of using prepaid debit card?