Consumer Law, Warranties Escrow account security

[Notalawyer1]

Can you provide some advice regarding security in an escrow account?

I and another individual have a single investment account (account holder and custodian) with funds invested (unequally) by both parties. We wish to close the account and divide the funds. But we wish to do this by placing all of the funds (which, unfortunately, are in only one of the party's names) in an escrow account and then paying each party through the escrow account according to written escrow instructions agreed to by both parties.

The key questions that I have are:

1.Can either of the parties, despite having agreed in writing to the terms of the dispersal of funds, later object to the division of funds?

2.What security do I have that the other party could place a block on the escrow's dispersal, claiming anything from fraud, to coercion or whatever?

3.If both parties sign the escrow instructions and agree to the terms written therein, is that not a binding, immutable and unchallengeable agreement?

4.Where can I get a copy of thorough and legal escrow instructions for the situation as described above.

Thank you in advance for your advice.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

1. Anyone can object or sue if they want to. Whether they are right is another question and they may have to prove it.

2. There are no guarantees. You can use a trusted third party escrow service. I used DSI for quite a while successfully, which is now Iron Mountain.

3. Yes and no. The agreement is clear as it is. Anyone can challenge it - it doesn't mean they have a hope to bring a case, which is why you ask for attorneys' fees if it's clearly frivolous.

4. I have a couple here that I'll upload shortly. We are revamping the free forms section and I'm very excited about the whole new system we'll have up this month. HOWEVER, for a very important transaction with some serious money exchanging hands, I would never rely on a standard form agreement. There are so many different aspects of an agreement which could come into play, too many to name here. I'd definitely invest in an attorney and, for probably a few hundred dollars, you have a better agreement that is tailored and comes with real peace of mind.

Best of luck with this.