Bank account withdrawal

[NaturalMystic]

Need some help. My wife and I opened an account for our god daughter three years ago. Since then the mother and father have gone their seperate ways. We got the statement in the mail the other day and all the money has been taken out of the account. The account was in my wife and god daughter's name. We were told that the only way a withdraw could take place is with the consent of us. Come to find out the mother signed the 4 years olds name and withdrew the money. The bank admits their wrong doing and will replace the money. Should there be charges filed against the mother?

[angelatc]

If the bank is replacing the money it would be up to them to file charges.

[Dr.3D]

If the bank is replacing the money it would be up to them to file charges.

Yep, unless it could be proven in court that the money was needed sooner than it will be replaced, thus causing a hardship and damages for losses incurred from not having the money soon enough.

Edit: Then again, since the bank admitted it was their fault, the bank would be the one who would have to pay any damages.

[KCIndy]

As long as you get the money back, I would file it under "no harm, no foul" unless there's a lot more going on than you've mentioned in your post.

Most important, I would say, is to keep exceedingly detailed records of everything that happened, especially the bank's admission that they were at fault. (You DID get it in writing, didn't you??)

By keeping good records, you can make sure that your money is, indeed, refunded safely. Also, if a similar incident happens in the future, you bring the previous incident to the attention of the authorities.

[Reason]

civil liberties eh?

[akihabro]

Read the fine print I know my old bank says its not responsible for screw ups...like if John Doe makes a $1,000 withdraw from his account and the stupid bank teller changes one digit (accidentally) and cleans out your account and puts it into the negatives. They really aren't obligated to do anything about that.

I've been trying to read all the fine print and find this. I think it was my old bank or maybe another one. I might be mistaken.

[angelatc]

Read the fine print I know my old bank says its not responsible for screw ups...like if John Doe makes a $1,000 withdraw from his account and the stupid bank teller changes one digit (accidentally) and cleans out your account and puts it into the negatives. They really aren't obligated to do anything about that.

I've been trying to read all the fine print and find this. I think it was my old bank or maybe another one. I might be mistaken.

I can pretty much assure you that you're wrong. They'll sometimes pretend that they aren't responsible to try to get out of paying, but they are. They carry insurance for exactly this type of thing.

[Zippyjuan]

If the mother is the legal guardian then I think she does have the right to sign things for the child since the child is a minor- sounds like she did nothing illegal but you would have to talk to a lawyer to find out for sure.

[Matt Collins]

Speak with an attorney. But how much money are we talking about?

[NaturalMystic]

The mother withdrew $500 dollars. She does have custody of the child. The issue that I have is that the account was set up when she was born and it is in my wife's name and the child is listed as a minor. The mother signed the childs name and withdrew the money even though we are the primary on the account. The bank has replaced the money. Thanks for everyone's input

[cindy25]

change the account to "in trust for" so even the child can't withdraw, or require 2 signatures for withdrawal