joint account with minor
my daughter who is 17 set up an account with a boy who was over 18 as a joint account. It was her money in the account. He overdrew another account with the same bank and they took her money to pay the fees. we are in Indiana. Is this legal to set up this account to begin with and can they come into that account to take the funds to pay for his other account.
Re: joint account with minor
The parent of a seventeen year old child can go to the bank and raise Cain about the bank allowing the child (who is legally incompetent) to open a joint account with a person who was not her parent or guardian. And if you can prove to the bank that the money in the account was your daughter's money, then the bank should cheerfully refund the money taken to satisfy the debt of the over-eighteen year old deadbeat. Otherwise, the bank is allowed to offset claims against an account holder from all accounts, individual or joint, of that account holder. This is usually part of the account agreement (which you should remind the bank your daughter was legally incompetent to sign.) I suggest your daughter do as much as she can to clean up after herself on this one to help her remember to avoid entanglements with future deadbeats. I can't think of any reason for the boyfriend to be on an account with your daughter except to allow him to take the money, one way or another. Good luck.
