- There is no law preventing you from writing a check for a future payment as long as you have no illegal intent in writing the check. One example of illegal intent may be giving a person a check that is postdated only to give yourself time to cancel the check with your bank to prevent payment. You can write a postdated check and give it to the payee without any penalty, although it is good to advise the person that the check is postdated. If he is not aware of it, he may get frustrated and apply penalties for lack of prompt payment if the check is not cashed on demand. That being said, make sure the bank is aware of the postdated check as well.
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The bank is not responsible for ensuring that the check is cashed when you want it to be. If the payee brings it in prior to the date on the check, it could very well be cashed. If money is not in the account, you may be assessed penalties and fees for bouncing a check. You may have no recourse for these penalties if you did not give the bank reasonable notice that you were postdating a check.
It is important to note that if you are receiving a postdated check, most states do not provide coverage for these instruments under bad check laws. The reason is that these are not considered payable on demand, a condition of normal checks and covered under bad check law. - If you write a postdated check, it is best to not rely on the payee to wait to deposit it, especially if she doesn't hold checks and makes deposits daily for bulk-check deposits. If you think this may happen and want to protect yourself as much as possible, give the bank reasonable notice. To do so you must go to your banking institution and identify yourself with valid ID. You will need to identify the account number the check is written on and give the bank the check number, amount, payee and date it should be paid. Put this in writing on your own letterhead, and fill out any paperwork the bank may require. This is not a complete guarantee, but may preserve some of your rights if the check is cashed prior to the payable date.
- It is at your discretion to accept a postdated check. There are risks associated with accepting a check that is not payable on demand. The account may be closed or not have sufficient funds when the check date arrives and the check is cashed. You may lose the check while holding it. Because these checks are not covered in most states by bad check laws, you are placing yourself at risk should the check not be cashed. There will be little you can do to recover the lost funds. The best policy is to only accepted postdated checks from regular customers and to not allow the check to be postdated for a period longer than 2 weeks. The longer the time frame, the more likely something can go wrong.
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If you have written a postdated check that was cashed by a bank after giving the bank notice, you may be able to reclaim some of the damage, if any from the check being prematurely cashed. This isn't a "cut and dried" scenario and requires a consultation with an attorney. Before you run to an attorney, however, visit your bank and ask the branch manager if she can waive the fees once you provide your documentation.
If you have received a check that was postdated and were not able to claim your money, you may check with a lawyer to see if your state has a remedy under bad check laws to provide you some remuneration. If you feel the check was issued fraudulently, file a police report with all pertinent information.
