Is a postdated check legal?

A postdated check is a check in which the issuance of funds cannot be accessed until a date in the future. These are checks that are written in advance to be used for a future date. It is usually the intent that someone will not cash the check until on or after the date that the check is dated.

Legal Issues

There are currently no laws restricting an individual from writing a check for a future payment as long as their intent is legal. For example, writing a postdated check in order to cancel payment is illegal intent. If you are going to utilize a postdated check for your payment method, both the person you are paying and the bank itself needs to be aware that the check is postdated. This will prevent any fees being applied for extraneous externalities.

The Bank’s Involvement

The bank cannot be held accountable for if a postdated check is cashed in before the date it has been postdated. If the person you are paying cashes the check before the marked date, it may be cashed without restrictions. Because the check will still go through, it is possible you may incur penalties and fees for a bounced check. If you did not tell the bank that you were postdating a check, you will still be held accountable for the fees and penalties associated with the aforementioned bounced check. In order to prevent this, give the bank a reasonable notice. To accomplish this, one must go to the physical banking location and provide a valid ID. You will also need to provide information such as your account number, amount, date to be paid and of course, the person you are paying and making the check out to.

Receiving a postdated check?

You may accept or deny postdated checks. The main risk in accepting a postdated check is that the account in which was used to pay the check may have been closed or not have enough funds in the account when the check is cashed. There is little you can do if this is the case. Recovering these lost funds is extremely difficult. It is recommended to only accept postdated checks from proven, reliable and regular customers and do not allow a postdated check to be posted for a time interval greater than two weeks. If your postdated check is, in fact, rejected, then you may be able to obtain legal assistance via a lawyer to try and recover the lost funds of your client.

Note: State law may govern some aspects of postdated checks. It is recommended that you review any state laws that may apply before writing or requesting a postdated check.

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Bradley Songer

“His eyes are open”, the doctor declared astounded. I was born into this world on Memorial Day, May 30th, 1991, with bright, blue and curious eyes wide open. The attending physician stated that having one’s eyes open at such a young point in time for a newborn was a rare occurrence. Days became weeks that turned into years. Almost instantaneously, I seemed to be entering elementary school. At an early age I found reading, writing and arithmetic to be thoroughly interesting subjects. Reading and writing became second nature to me and became my top two hobbies. I excelled in academics all through elementary, intermediate and high school, eventually deciding to attend the prestigious University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2009.

I am currently a sophomore at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill seeking two degrees both in Business Administration and Economics. I am a member of the Carolina Covenant Scholarship program. I am interested in business, ecommerce, economics and investments. I have always enjoyed playing sports: basketball and soccer being my favorites. I am a diehard Carolina fan and hope to see a NCAA championship by the time I complete my undergraduate degree. Go Tarheels!

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