if you had a check for over $80,000 and did not want to put in bank b/c of potential freeze on acct ,what is second best option?

Open an account in another bank with it.

I would contact the bank manager. the can contact the sender of the check and the can put a hold on the funds.

I guess you can just hold on to it, however, most checks are only valid for 90-days.

If there is a freeze on the account, you won't be able to deposit it. All checks are held/frozen for 10 or 14 days. You should be okay depositing it.

Open up a new bank account.

PAY OFF whatever you owe that would potentially result in your account being frozen.

Actually, that isn't the second best option, it is THE BEST option.

Open a new account at another bank.

You don't have an option. If there is a freeze on your account, it means you owe someone (most likely the IRS) money. You might as well pay them with the 80k. If there isn't a freeze yet, you'll still have to deposit the check and wait for it to clear before you can withdraw the money.

The bank won't freeze the whole account, they only hold the funds from the check until it actually clears.

If you don't want a gigantic hold in your normal bank account, then just open a separate savings account and deposit the check there. Once the bank verifies the funds and clears the hold you can transfer it to other accounts as needed.

I think you're over-thinking this.

A Swiss bank