I have had a check sent to me that is made out to my mother and me Cust GIFT act. I am no longer a minor. Is there any way for me to cash this check?
Answers
Although her guardianship has terminated because you have reached majority age, the most practical solution, assuming you and your mother are at least on speaking terms, is to give her the check to deposit and then write you a check in the same amount. If she refuses, you will need to contact the issuer, explain your situation, and ask whether you can void the check, return it to the issuer, and have the issuer send you a new check naming you personally as payee. The issuer will probably ask you to provide proof of age for this purpose.
There are actually a few ways of handling this:
1. You could have your mother "endorse" the back of the check as follows:
[mom's signature], "Cust. for 'Curious Dave'"
or
2. Go to the issuing bank and ask for THIS PARTICULAR BANK'S procedures for addressing a situation such as this. I can assure that you that this is not their first, nor will it be their last time cashing the proceeds from a time-deposit check (e.g., a long-term CD) where the beneficiary (in this case "Curious Dave") has reached the age of majority, 18 in most states, 19 and 21 in one or 2 states respectively.
Assuming that Curious Dave is over the age of majority, bring your CD paperwork, one (or better yet, two) pieces of government issued ID (e.g., a drivers license, a US Passport, a Concealed Handgun License, or one of these and your birth certificate. This (and a competent bank manager) should be all that you'll need to cash in YOUR CD.
Best of luck. Please let us know what happened with your CD.
PS: your mom SHOULD NOT have been named as the Payee in this situation (i.e., where she was merely acting as your custodian during your age of minority. It SHOULD HAVE been issued and made payable to "Mom, Custodian for Curious Dave under the UTMA [insert your state's 2 letter abbreviation at the time the CD was opened]."
Upon reaching the age of majority for the state IN WHICH YOU reside, AND not laws of the state where the bank or its branch is located, the check could be negotiated by your mom over to you, as per the my instructions/suggestions in line item number 1. Or by you alone by going to the bank as per the instructions I laid out above for you at Line Item suggestion number 2.
please note that this is NOT to be construed as legal advice but rather, suggestions from one person to another, trying to help him out. The laws vary throughout the U.S. and the advice applicable to one person may be very different as it applies to your particular situation.