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Divorce and bank account issues?

My sister has been divorced for more than a year now, but her ex-husband (who is now remarried, as is my sister.) never took her name off their bank account which he now uses as his own, and she hasn't used since the divorce. She claims he owes child-support and money for some things of hers that he pawned before they divorced, so she went to the bank and took the child support plus $150 out of the account. Here's the kicker though. Her ex's mother offered her a check for child support, but she turned it down saying it had to come from him. Bottom line: I'm worried my sister has gotten herself into trouble. Can she get in any trouble for doing what she did, or was he just stupid for not taking her name off the account. I told her that regardless of legal issues it was wrong anyway, but she is still too pissed off to care. (She lives in Utah, so any lawyers from Utah or who might now Utah law, please answer.)

Self-help will get your sister in trouble legally.

First, depending on the exact nature of the bank account, and the divorce, she may have committed a bank fraud or, in the least, a contempt against the court order.

If I were her attorney, I would stronly suggest she return the monies IMMEDIATELY then accept the check from the ex-mother-in-law.

Tell her that it matters NOT to the court where the child support comes from, only that it is paid. And also tell her that next time she thinks about self-help, she had better consult with an attorney.

TO WATERSKATER:

Not necessarily so. Since we don't have a copy of the divorce nor the property settlement, we have no idea how the assets (including the bank account) were divided.

i applaude her.....and i think he was just to stupid to take her name off...........they would have to prove they did it illegal and since her name was on the account ......its going to be hard to prove......the band said it was ok cuz her name is on the account.
Technically since her name is on the account, she can't really get in trouble for taking money out of the account. However, it was kind of low for her to do. She should have taken her name off the account if he wouldn't take his name off. If he won't pay up for child support, she should first make sure she's kept track of how much he should have paid minus what she took out of the account, and then go get an attorney, if she wants to take this to the next step.
Family law attorney's assistant (in California, but these laws are somewhat universal)
This is completely legal. She will not get in trouble for it, she is still on the bank account. My fiance, soon to be wife, worked as a bank teller for over a year while she was in college and told me that usually in a divorce, the first one to get to the bank can withdraw any amount if not all if they choose to (as long as they are both on the account). It would be his responsibility to remove your sister's name from the account if he is the one who opened it, but as long as she is on the account, it is completely legal. However, if she withdraws more than half of the total, he can demand her to reimburse. If she chose not to pay, then he could take her to court and they would demand it, however, if it was over child support, he is more at risk by going to court for that than your sister would be. He could get jail time for not paying child support, your sister would just be ordered by the court to reimburse him by a certain date. As long as she didn't withdraw more than half of what he had in the account, she is safe as can be.