398
Opinion of the Court
U. S. 365, 369-370 (1945). This is unsurprising since, as noted above, the statute itself provides a definition of "transfer." But that definition in turn includes references to parting with "property" and "interest[s] in property." In the absence of any controlling federal law, "property" and "interests in property" are creatures of state law. Id., at 370; Butner v. United States, 440 U. S. 48, 54 (1979) ("Congress has generally left the determination of property rights in the assets of a bankrupt's estate to state law"). Thus it is helpful to sketch briefly the rights and duties enjoyed under state law by each party to a check transaction.5
A person with an account at a bank enjoys a claim against the bank for funds in an amount equal to the account balance. Under the U. C. C., a check is simply an order to the drawee bank to pay the sum stated, signed by the maker and payable on demand. U. C. C. §§ 3-104(1), (2)(b), 2 U. L. A. 224 (1991). Receipt of a check does not, however, give the recipient a right against the bank. The recipient may present the check, but, if the drawee bank refuses to honor it, the recipient has no recourse against the drawee. § 3-409(1), 2A U. L. A. 189 (1991).6
That is not to say, however, that the recipient of a check
is without any rights. Receipt of a check for an underlying obligation suspends the obligation "pro tanto until the instrument['s] . . . presentment[;] . . . discharge of the underlying obligor on the instrument also discharges him on the obligation." § 3-802(1)(b), 2A U. L. A. 514 (1991). But should
5 We discuss these issues under the rubric of the U. C. C. and, in particular, U. C. C. Article 3. New Mexico, the State in which the instant transaction occurred, has adopted the U. C. C., see N. M. Stat. Ann. § 55-3-101 et seq. (1978 and Supp. 1991), as have all other 49 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. We are aware of no material differences between the version adopted by each of these other jurisdictions and the one we consider today, that of New Mexico.
6 "A check or other draft does not of itself operate as an assignment of any funds in the hands of the drawee available for its payment, and the drawee is not liable on the instrument until he accepts it."
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