Community Chat

[luvmyteddy4]

I don't know if it would be quite the same thing but if you have a local office I would go. I would go to mine to get a check for towing since I had free towing. They would cut me a check right then and there. 

[Mom2Dogs]

@CrazyKittyLvr2 my friend whose husband died, when thru the same thing...took forever when a check had to be reissued (and yes they had been notified of his death)  and don't get me started on all the hoops she had to jump thru with their cell phone provider.....

[chrystaltree]

Maybe it's just me.  It's a valid refund and I would have just endorsed it to myself and deposited it.  It's not even a $100.  I wouldn't have given it a second thought.  

[Krimpette]

@chrystaltree  I would have done similarly.  Most often, I deposit checks in the ATM machine at my bank, so I guess I'm not sure what the issue might be in this case.

[Lipstickdiva]

In Ohio, banks don't allow someone to deposit a check for a deceased person into their own account.  And most banks know when someone has passed.  Even if the OP is the executor or not, you can't deposit into your own personal account.  In that instance checks for a decedent often have to go into a special estate account.    

If I were the OP, I would have contacted the bank and asked.  Once in awhile you get a bank employee who doesn't know better and will allow you to deposit the check and all is well.  But legally, they aren't supposed to do that.  Regardless of whether DH's name is still on the account, he's passed so it's not his account.  It is his spouse's. 

[lovescats]

I would try to take it to your insurance agency rather than just mail it so it doesn't sit on someone's desk.  They might tell your 4 to 5 months as the worse case scenio but I think it would be faster.

I would have also deposited it in the atm and not even called them.  Could you still try to do that? Because I don't think the insurance agency is going to report to the home office that the check is made out wrong till they get it back.

[september]

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@NickNack wrote:

@CrazyKittyLvr2   You can just put for deposit only and the account # on the back of the check.  You don't have to sign your name or his.

Edited to add:  My father recently died, and my sister and I are both on his account.  Our attorney told us that we didn't have to open an estate account since our names were on that account.  He got a reimbursement check after he died, and I deposited it that way.

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Exactly.  My husband passed away in 2018.  Everyone we had accounts with, got notified.  Occasionally, I still get a check made out to him.  I deposit it with Schwab bank, with the account # at the top of the check, and write "for deposit only".  Works every time.

[Still Raining]

There can be times when a check (for whatever reason) will need to be sent to DH name.  This does not mean it isn't "yours".  Check with your lawyer, it happens.

[lovesrecess]

I
We have been to hell and back with State Farm for the last 8 months due to major storm damage to our home. They gave us $500 total to cover damage that has so far cost us $34k out of our own pocket. Oops! Just got an email from them that they had miscalculated and were sending us another check. I was so excited! Got the check yesterday. $371.26.
Last week I got a bill from a children’s store where I shop and have a Citibank card with the stores name on it. I have never had a balance on it and always just pay it at the end of the month. The bill said I owed $.59 and I had underpaid last month’s bill....I probably just didn’t read the statement correctly and mistyped it when I sent the payment. I phoned Citibank and the girl said I owed 59cents and I asked her how I could pay it since I couldn’t write a check for that amount. She said oh yes you can! I gave her my routing number and it was paid...except an hour later a supervisor called me and said they can’t accept payments for less than a dollar. I said how do we fix this? She said wait til next month’s statement and the balance should be over $5.00 with the interest....really? For 59 cents? I told them to close my account and they said fine....closed, but it may take two or three months for it to state it is closed. All this for 59 cents...they are idiots.

[pigletsmom]

There's really no reason you can't just deposit it. I wouldn't say anything at the bank at all. Just fill out the deposit slip and sign for deposit only on the check. The only way it would be a problem would be if the insurance company disputed something which they wouldn't in this case.

As people here have said they do it for their kids. Lots of people will deposit a check made out to their kids and then give kids cash. Having worked in a bank the only reason they would question it is if you wanted cash back off the deposit at the time.