Misuse of Money in a Joint Account

[Sean71976]

My question involves criminal law for the state of: Idaho

Hello, I put my girlfriend on my bank account so that she could sign my checks to pay my bills. It turns out that over the years she has use this access to use my money to pay her bills as well. I have only recently found this out as we are splitting. Do I have any recourse against her? I am assuming this is misappropriation but I'm unsure because of both of our names being on the account. All money is in the account come from my paychecks.

[Mr. Knowitall]

When you put money into a joint account, it is presumed to be the property of both account holders. You did this for a period of years. From the facts you have shared, it is difficult for me to imagine that the police would find cause to believe that a crime occurred, let alone one that could be proved in court beyond a reasonable doubt. Add to that, this sort of accusation is easily characterized as "sour grapes" over the end of a relationship.

If your ex- is willing to confess that the money was yours and that she should not have taken it, you can consider small claims court. You can sue her in small claims court without a confession, but under the facts you've shared I think you'll have a very difficult time convincing the court that you were unaware of her actions if she claims that you knew what she was doing the entire time.

[asa_jim]

Joint ownership is a legal status, and money in a joint bank account is not presumed to be the property of the account holders, it is in fact the joint property of the account holders. She had every legal right to access that money by virtue of being the joint owner of it. You each had 100% rights to that money, legally.

[jk]

It wouldn’t matter if the account was solely in your name. There is no way you can argue you weren’t aware of how she was using the money, for years, and, at least, it was with acquiescence if not actual permission.

[Who'sThatGuy]

It looks like you have learned something good from something bad... Now you just need to chalk it up...

[Highwayman]

Hello, I put my girlfriend on my bank account so that she could sign my checks to pay my bills.

Dumb move. Grow up and learn how to write your own checks and pay your own bills. Too late now in this case. Lesson learned.