Can my Dad cash in my settlement check?

Question

I am suppose to be receiving a settlement check from my 1st job back when I was 17 for $3,500. The court hearing was back in May and I asked some of my old co-workers if they had received their's yet and most of them had already. It is now 2 months past and I still have not recieved anything in the mail yet. I told my mom and sister about it, but kept it a secret from my dad since he is always opening up my mails and plus we don't really get along as I do not trust him with my money. I had asked him yesterday if he saw any letters sent from my old work. He just asked what was it about, but I did not tell him about the check. Funny thing is, is that he was acting "funny" and kept trying to change the subject.

My question is, is there any possible way for him to deposit my check issued under MY name into his account? I read that it is possible for him to forge my signature in the endorsement section and deposit it himself. Is this true?Or would the bank need to see my ID for him to dep i

Answer 1

Sorry you are having so much trouble with this. In my experience it depends on the bank whether or not he can cash it.It is not supposed to happen but unfortunatley there are many instances where it does (especially with relatives).

The banks goal is to only cash checks that are good and that won't bounce. So if your dad has a relationship with someone at the bank that he can lie to and convince to cash the check-then technically he can if they're willing to do so. If you find that he did steal your money you usually have to contact the police or consult an attorney because most banks won't get involved with what they consider "domestic issues."

I would suggest contacting whoever is issuing the check and ask them if its been cashed. If it hasn't they can place a stop payment and reissue you a new check to a different address.

Best of luck to you.