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Using Banks and Bank Accounts/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Banking abroad | 12/12/2011 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: I am an USA citizen, planning to leave NY state for a long time (years) for living overseas. I also ... A: In regards to #1, the answer is yes, but that of course will depend upon the bank. There is no rule ... | ||
| Bank Account Protection | 10/25/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: Are bank savings accounts protected against identity theft withdraws? For example, if someone ... A: Kenneth, the bank is generally liable for unauthorized withdrawals. Exceptions can include your ... | ||
| Closing CD Account | 10/18/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I have a CD account with Bank of America in Florida. I would like to close my CD account but I'm now ... A: there should be no issues for you to close your CD at a NJ branch, they may just have a different ... | ||
| Banking | 10/9/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: please can you tell me what is meant by right to close a customer's account by bank?And what are the ... A: When a bank exercises its right to close a customer's account it means that they no longer wish to ... | ||
| Buisness bank account | 9/29/2011 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: we have a pvt ltd company in india which is owner of a LLC company in wilmington delaware usa, now ... A: This is what I do for a living. I not only set up Delaware LLCs, but bank accounts. A Delaware LLC ... | ||
| Wire transfer worry. | 9/24/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I hope you can help me with this. I opened a trading account with an online brokerage firm to trade ... A: If you are wiring money into the US, what you will need to enter is the following: -Swift code ... | ||
| RE: Offshore Tax and Asset Planning | 9/21/2011 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: What is the minimum recommended amount to establish an offshore trust? Are these recommended ... A: There is no set amount, but you have to decide for yourself if it worth the trouble to go ... | ||
| State Bank and Belize | 9/17/2011 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: I'm wondering what are the benefits of opening an account with a state-owned bank? Like the one in ... A: ok, the issue of State Bank vs National Bank. None of the banks are owned by the State or the ... | ||
| online banking | 9/16/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: Melody: Can you recommend a good free-checking bank? I was with Wells Fargo but they are charging ... A: I definitely understand your frustration; I hate paying fees myself. However, I must tell you that ... | ||
| Credit -VS- Debit | 9/14/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I have a Bank of America Visa Debit card (check card). Whenever I go to a checkout, it asks Me ... A: this is a great question, and I can tell you that each option can be good depending on what works ... | ||
| Safety deposit boxes | 9/5/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: This might not be your exact area of expertise, but I was hoping that you might be able to point me ... A: Unfortunately there is no way of finding out the bank where the box is housed from a key. However, ... | ||
| Bank wire transfer/ delay | 9/2/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I have a fx account at Oanda. On 16th Aug, I made a deposit to Oanda via bank wire at RBC. The ... A: I certainly understand your frustration Fung, and your banker had no right to refuse to put the ... | ||
| avoiding bounced checks | 8/31/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: .this has happened once before and now again. i have bounced two checks accidentally and now have to ... A: Overdrafts and bounced checks are definitely big concerns for many, and most financial institutions ... | ||
| credit cards | 8/22/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I have a question about the use of credit cards. I might be asking the wrong person. I use my ... A: I'm sorry it took me so long to respond, but I needed to verify the information with different ... | ||
| Disposition of custodial account on death | 7/29/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: My mom is the custodian of a savings account for my son (California). It is at a bank and is in ... A: Bob, I'm assuming she is custodian under the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act UTMA. States have widely ... | ||
| Post Dated Check | 7/23/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I am renting a home and the renter finally made arrangements for her bank to send a check for the ... A: Carolyn, The Uniform Commercial Code adopted by all the states basically gives the bank the right to ... | ||
| Joint Checking accounts garnished | 6/19/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: My boyfriend has a bit of a rocky financial past. He accrued a lot of debt and is currently doing a ... A: Nicole, not familiar with NY law. Ask the creditor in writing to verify amounts owing including all ... | ||
| frozen bank account | 6/17/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: My dad passed away 3/25/11. His bank account (Banco Popular in PR)is frozen ($2000.00) I appear on ... A: Maria, My first advice is to ask the bank exactly what they need to release the funds. You may have ... | ||
| I need help choosing a new bank. | 5/11/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I currently have my money in Bank of America (a savings account and a checking account). Now Bank of ... A: Charles, Keep in mind that until December 2012, checking account deposits are insured with no upper ... | ||
| I need help choosing a new bank. | 5/11/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I currently have my money in Bank of America (a savings account and a checking account). Now Bank of ... A: Your list is quite long, and since I am in California, I have not heard of some of these banks; ... | ||
| how best to protect myself | 5/10/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I want to hire a third party to pay my bills and manage my banking transactions, but I don't want to ... A: Betty, I'm sure there are ways to do what you suggest, but not without either taking what I think is ... | ||
| Depositing large sums of money and its security in the bank | 4/29/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I know FDIC insures deposits up to a limit, what if the deposit was considerably more, how do you ... A: Troy, individual deposits are insured to at least $250,000. Non interest bearing checking account ... | ||
| wire transfer error (wrong name with right account #) | 4/6/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: i recently sent a wire transfer and the benificiary name was incorrect but the account number was ... A: Have you asked your bank to trace the wire yet? This way they'll at least tell you which bank is ... | ||
| joint accounts with daughter | 3/28/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I have checking and savings accounts set up with my daughter when she was a minor about 4 years ago. ... A: sorry to hear about your situation. Joint owners cannot typically be removed so the accounts are ... | ||
| fraudulent checks | 3/16/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I work for a jewelry business in New Jersey which had six of its checks copied. The bank( Columbia ... A: Carol, can't tell if you are inquiring on behalf of yourself as an employee or as an agent for your ... | ||
| Question about checks | 3/12/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I have an Investor that I've been talking to and she is trying to provide me with half of the ... A: You should always be concerned about the information you put out there, we always encrypt all emails ... | ||
| Trust | 3/12/2011 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: My grandmother died 21 years ago as of march 10th, and left a trust that list her nine children as ... A: I think you need to talk to an attorney just to make sure that everything is as you believe it is. ... | ||
| Omission of the Truth | 3/8/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: I opened a Basic Checking Account with Citibank today but only because I was told that it would ... A: I'm sorry to hear about this incidence, this must be addressed with the same manager at the branch ... | ||
| Omission of the Truth | 3/8/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I opened a Basic Checking Account with Citibank today but only because I was told that it would ... A: Layla,If you already had an account with CIti, the credit inquiry would likely be a "soft inquiry" ... | ||
| opening acct in previous foreclosure bank | 2/26/2011 | Melody Tu |
| Q: As the subject title implies, I had a previous foreclosure (completed), and a loss mitigation, (I ... A: The first question might be better answered by a legal expert in the field of foreclosure laws as ... | ||
| power of attorney/ activating with pop's out of state bank | 2/17/2011 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: I live in Washington State and recently visisted my father in California. He is very ill and unable ... A: You are going to need to go into the bank and present the power of attorney to the bank and have ... | ||
| Account opening | 1/29/2011 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: Now I live in Russia. I search for possibility, to open the account in the some American bank and to ... A: I think setting up a US bank account is a very good idea. I think using PayPal to receive funds to ... | ||
| ex spouse / acct deposit/withdrawal | 1/5/2011 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: AFter close to a year and a half I am learning of MORE fraud issues from my ex. After being notified ... A: Meg,you may have a claim but its likely against you ex. Given his behavior, collecting might be ... | ||
| bank | 1/1/2011 | Robert Hanzel |
| Q: How can a spouse stop the other from spending all their money. HUsband is a drug addict and is ... A: I am terrible sorry to hear about your situation. I have encountered this several times and I can ... | ||
| Auto Loan | 12/30/2010 | Robert Hanzel |
| Q: Recently my husband lost his job and I got behind on car payments. I made payment arrangements with ... A: In order to address your individual situation, you would need to have an attorney in your state ... | ||
| Foreign Owned LLC and Bank account | 12/22/2010 | Alexander J. Hay |
| Q: I run a software company in India which has developed a Electronic Health Record software focussed ... A: Yes. You can do this, and there are some advantages to doing it this way. However, there are also ... | ||
| Chex-Systems | 11/26/2010 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I just closed my checking account as my bank was having to many problems. I went to open a new ... A: Elizabeth, Yes you should be able to negotiate a lesser amount but that doesn't mean that the ... | ||
| Old Bank Account | 11/22/2010 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: I found an old bank book belonging to my deceased parents from 1963, with $1.00 in the account. The ... A: Carol, the account is not likely to still exist. The bank probably absorbed the $1.00 as a service ... | ||
| post dated check | 11/19/2010 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: We own a small business in Phoenix and one of our clients came in on Wed and pick up their products ... A: Joey, As you've discovered, bank's don't check dates/signatures on checks. Most all state laws allow ... | ||
| joint accounts | 11/16/2010 | Jim Meadows |
| Q: About a month ago, the guy I was seeing added me to his business account at USBank. I thought I was ... A: Cindy, If you are a joint account holder, you have the authority to close the account. I suggest ... | ||
Using Banks and Bank Accounts
Answers by Expert:
Melody Tu
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I work within a branch environment, but I'm also familiar with back office processing, and keep up with new trends. I keep in contact with bankers from various financial institutions to help my clients as well as gain knowledge.
Experience
I have been in the industry since 1997 when I began working for a one branch credit union where everything was processed in-house including what today are considered "back office functions". I moved on to bigger credit unions as I looked for growth opportunity, then started working at a bank in 2003. I was promoted to sales in 2005, promoted to junior officer in 2006, and promoted to senior officer in 2007. In 2008 I was recruited by another bank to manage one of the local branches where I am still today.
Education/Credentials
I grew up in Milan, Italy and came to the United States as a high school junior. I received my B.S. in Business with an emphasis in entrepreneurship at Chapman University with active membership in Beta Gamma Sigma, an international business honor society. California Life licensed.
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