I'm a court-appointed guardian of property. I hope to hear from people who have had this specific experience of being limited to writing checks. I'd love to hear what work-arounds exist (on the up-and-up, of course, nothing the court wouldn't approve of). Let me be clear: I am not out to get my mother's money; I'm trying to make her funds last as long as possible. But in all my preparations, I did not foresee being limited to paper checks.
Scenario: The bank where mother has accounts is also the bank recommended by my lawyer for guardianship accounts. So I went there to set up her guardianship account.
Problem: This bank will not give me a debit card. Will not let me write echecks. Will not let me do online bill pay. Only paper checks. This is straight from the bank's legal team who examined my court order.
Another letter from the court says that all payments should be made by check. So it might not matter where I go for banking.
I am also prohibited by the court from reimbursing myself from her account for things put on my own credit card, even if strict records are kept.
Sure, I can pay for many big services by check. But how am I to have care items sent from online retailers to her facility? How do I pay for any service that requires payment online or by phone? How do I buy a small item from the local hardware store, needed in preparing one of her properties for sale?
Maybe I can buy an online retailer gift card with a check, then use that to have care items sent to the facility. But won't that muck up the receipt keeping?
Anyone in this position, what did you do? Did you make a list of local stores that still take checks? Did you go to customer service to get the one person in the store who knows how to process a check? Did you use some kind of third party service that would take your checks and turn around and pay bills electronically?* Are there other ways?
*I ran across that idea in researching something as basic as ordering a new garbage can ($70), for one of my mother's properties, from a national trash company that only picks up their own garbage cans. They don't take checks. But you can sign up with a third party company that will take a check and pay your bill. This company has terrible reviews, though, including that they pay bills late and refuse to cover the late charges. I really want to avoid that!
This set-up seems so untenable that I foresee taking steps to get it changed in the future. But that could take time, so until I can get that done, what are my options?
You: I need to order continence care supplies. There is no supplier who takes checks. How do I pay for them?
Legal Eagle: ... [says what?]
You: I need a new plug for the handbasin. It costs $1.75. Minimum check payment is $5, so this has to be a cash purchase. May I write a check at the bank for a petty cash float with its own journal and file of receipts?
Legal Eagle: ... [replies what?]
it's not enough to say they don't see a problem. They need to explain how you are to operate in 2021.
Obviously you keep scrupulous records as to what was purchased, when and how much it cost.
I looked at the follow-up letter I just got in the mail. It's not the court order itself, but is titled "Appointment Letter - Important Duties":
"You must never comingle your funds with those of the ward. All purchases should be done by check, to assist in record keeping."
But I wonder if it's the case that the boilerplate of the letter is a decade or two old, and they don't really expect you to follow the "should be done by check." The letter ends by saying the trust clerk of the court may be able to answer questions about minor matters, so I'm thinking it would be worth asking her if I could use your method, MJ. Or I wonder if I should try to get written court permission? The state where this was issued is so vague in their instructions on everything.
Thanks for the suggestion—I'm going to look into this!
I'll think about your specific questions, but I would agree to try another bank, a national one, with more sophisticated staff. When I administered my sister's trust, I visited 3 banks to see which would be the most flexible, reliable, etc. I eliminated 2 right away and went with a well known national bank, which was far more flexible (and is even more so these days), and even has a staff of trust attorneys to review the trust (in an hour or so) before opening an account.
I did select a separate one for a subsidiary trust, just to keep them separate in the banking arena, but I was disgusted with its sloppiness. It couldn't even get my name right, despite being told numerous times!
Obviously a trust isn't equivalent to guardianship, but my point is that I think these kinds of big banks are more familiar with estate management principles, techniques, and options than smaller banks. They're more sophisticated, as are their banking staff focused on these specific types of accounts.
There might be another option, and that's to petition the court for specific go-arounds and advice. I would think there would be someone on the judge's staff who could direct you to someone in the court who could help with these situations. Some of them just seem onerous to me.
Another thought....if this is a small community court, it might be that they're not familiar with online or alternate payments besides checks. Another thought (which I think might be more likely) is that this is alternately a means to keep a tight rein on guardians. It is easier to monitor a guardian's expenses with only one method of payment, and that might be a factor.
Let me preface this...I was Guardian for my Husband (don't ask.. that was a nightmare as well...)
I could not do e checks either.
So when we got a bill from the doctor I would take it out of my account. Medication, check from my account, Clothing, from my account....Any thing that I charged on my card a copy of the statement at the end of the month was included for the court records in case they wanted to see proof.
I did write checks from my account then reimburse myself from his. But before I could do that I would wait until the end of the month. Gather all the receipts and break them down according to how the court wanted it done. I would then write a check to myself from his account and deposit it into my own account. I could not do an electronic transfer for this either.
I would check to see if you can use your credit card and do the same thing that I did. It makes it so much easier.
I understand the caution. Not everyone is honest but that makes it difficult for the rest of us.
(side note here...I would not sign up with a third party company, most likely they are going to charge you a fee to do that and you would think if the Court is trying to protect your moms money they would not like that. But then again as odd as it sounds they would probably accept the fee rather than allow an electronic transfer or a debit card for the Beneficiary Account. ..go figure!)
Do not in any circumstances go to the third party company. Even if they aren't out-and-out crooks, how do you suppose they make a profit? - fees from your mother's money, that's how.
Glad my instincts were right about the third party bill payer. Convenience fees are going to happen, but I can't have them pay the bill late and dump the late fees on me. No way. My good credit has been essential throughout this process and I'd like to keep it that way!
I've read a lot of your replies on other posts as I've been lurking all summer, and want to thank you for your participation. This site has been really helpful to me.
I am in Canada and the situation I am describing had to do with a POA and eventually Executor and 2 banks.
When step dad was dying Mum's POA was sprung. One bank said Mum could not transfer funds to her account from his as POA, the other was ok with that. Once he died, all expenses Mum paid out of pocket as his Executrix, had to be itemized with receipts and the bank cut a cheque to Mum from the estate account. Mum could not cut a cheque to herself.
Ai yi yi.