Check made payable to ME...

T

Thurgood

Bluelighter
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I've got a fairly simple question (at least I think so). So I received a check in the mail which is made payable to me. The check is from my fall tuition at college (i withdrew partway through and got a partial refund). Anyways, technically this money belongs to my dad since he paid the tuition in the first place. However, since the check was made payable to myself I deposited it into my checking account with the intent to transfer it to him, but certain circumstances have come up which makes me believe I will not see him for quite some time (basically I'm off on my own now)...
So my question is, if my dad were to really pursue this money at any point does he have any case legally? Is there a way to prove that the money was supposed to be his? I was thinking since it was a check payable to myself he can't really say it was his...but what if he has the cancelled check from the original amount he paid for in the fall, would that be enough to prove it was his money? In all seriousness I doubt my dad would waste his time (and money on a lawyer) over $1200, but you never know, thus I'm curoius...thanks for any help anyone can provide!
 
Translation (if I'm reading this right):
"I owe $1200, and I acknowledge the debt is valid. I don't want to pay it. How can I renege on this perfectly valid debt?"
 
Ok, I do not OWE my dad the money. He has always agreed to pay for my college, but in that sense the money is technically his I suppose. I know morally this is wrong, and I can admit to this. But there are a lot of other factors which have influenced my decision to move out and away from my dad forever. So, I'm basically asking if I keep the money can he prove that it was "technically" his money from the start?
 
From my own experience, the check is issued to you, because YOU are the responsible party for paying tuition. That is, if tuition doesn't get paid, it's your ass on the line, no one else's. The univeristy doesn't care where the money comes from, so long as they get paid. So, naturally, if there is a refund, it's going to come back to the person who is responsible, namely you.
Think of a credit card for example. Your mother sends in an extra payment and there is a credit balance on the account. Visa sends a refund check to the name on the account, not necessarily to the person who sent in the money.
Absent any real contract, courts would consider the money spent on tuition a gift, and therefore your father would have no legal recourse. The money is yours.
Dr. J
 
Thank you for the reply Dr. J. It was pretty helpful and pretty much along the lines of how I perceived the situation. Again, I do not think I am right for doing this but I wanted to know how it could have been dealt with (even though I seriously doubt my dad would pursue an amount of money like this, nor any person really, as once the lawyer fees/court costs come into play it's not worth the time and hassle probably).
 
but isn't there a contract between father and son. Father would pay said amount of money for tuition, if the money isn't going to tuition, doesn't it belong back to father?
 
Shana,
From the way he describes the situation, his father simply wrote a check to the University, in effect giving a "gift" to his son. Unless there were set guidelines, most likely in writing, of what should happen to the money or to the son if the money isn't used as prescribed, it really isn't a contract.
but isn't there a contract between father and son. Father would pay said amount of money for tuition, if the money isn't going to tuition, doesn't it belong back to father?
Click to expand...
This would mean anyone who gave money to someone who didn't spend it on what they were supposed to could sue them. The law simply doesn't work this way.
Absent a true, written contact, there is little, if anything the father can do.
Click to expand...
 
A couple of points:
In general, a contract does NOT have to be written in order to be valid. At common law, basically all you need for a valid contract is offer/acceptance and consideration (an exchange of goods and/or promises). It's a little more complicated than that, but that's a decent simplification.
In any case, it can all be done orally, in general.
Depending on the details of the agreement however, the age of the parties, and the amount of money involved, the Statute of Frauds may require that it be written. If you really want to know, check into the laws for the state where you live; each state has its own Statute of Frauds, usually a part of the commercial code.
The other question is whether you really have consideration. If your father simply gave you the money, no strings attached, it's a donative promise, not a contract. However, if you made a promise to do something in return (e.g. to stay in school), it could be a valid contract (depending again on the Statute of Frauds).
Tell me what state you're in, maybe I'll have time to look up the SoF for you. My guess is that $1,200 is enough for the SoF to require that it be written (here in California it's $500), but who knows. Was this part of a larger agreement? Did he give you a lot more than just $1,200, I imagine?
[ 20 December 2002: Message edited by: Mahan Atma ]
 
Hey Mahan Atma, when you say it has to be written, do you mean handwritten in ink (instead of typed)? Anyways, I'm in Illinois and this check came from an Illinois University typed for roughly $1412. I'll try to explain the situation as a whole pretty quickly as best I can. Ok, my dad is willing to pay for my (and my brother's) college education. Each year when the bill comes (addressed to ME) my dad writes the check out to the University. Well, this year I happened to be doing pretty poorly in most classes and instead of failing most all (while on academic probation) I decided to withdraw and receive a 50% refund. So anyways the check came a week or so back and I deposited it and I plan to withdraw it when I leave (for good, within the next week). Since posting this I have thought about it more, and as of now I have the intention of paying the money back, once I get it. But see I'm going off on my own (from a middle/upper-middle class family who paid for shit my whole life), to having to pay for everything on my own. Anyways, since I do not have a job yet, I may need the money to help cover expenses for the first month.
I hope that cleared up any remaining questions. And thank you to those who have been helpful thus far, I appreciate it!
 
After looking at it I remembered that the statute of frauds (at least for Illinois) only deals with sales of goods, which clearly isn't the case here. If it was, the limit is $500, and it would have to be in writing. (That is, the agreement between yourself and your father would have to be in writing, not the check.)
Regardless, if you didn't promise to do anything in exchange for the money, you probably don't have a contract. For example, did you promise to stay in school in exchange for the money? Did you promise to do anything at all in exchange for the money? If not, there's probably no contract, and there's nothing your father could do, legally.
PS - If you just promised to stay in school generally, and not specifically as a promise in exchange for the money, that wouldn't count as a contract either.
[ 21 December 2002: Message edited by: Mahan Atma ]
 
Thank you Mahan, and all those who have contributed. Back to your question Mahan, no I never did "promise" to stay in school, although I know all the details better than anyone else of course. And based upon that, along with the
"guidelines" constituting a contract, it seems to me as if there was no legally binding contract between my father and I. So it looks like I'll be able to use the money to start off on my own, and once I'm at a point where I can pay it back I will as I have full intentions of doing so.
Thanks again for the help guys/girls.
 
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