You'll have to press charges though the police dept, from what I understand.Normally, you can only sue the tenant for your actual out-of-pocket expenses for the bad check in civil court, and of course, start eviction for nonpayment of rent.

If they pressed me for advice I'd steer them to the post office or the police, but tell them I can't get involved in their mail problems - in a nice way :-)You can't fix stupid. 

As far as a month-to-month agreement to use, I used the Nolo Press California book's month-to-month contract (don't have a copy anymore), but they also make generic books with contracts and info for all states. 

I'd be the type of landlord who would gather receipts and put them into a monthly folder, and deal with taxes at the end of the year - preferably by handing it all to someone else to do LOL.There is a great book regarding tax write-offs put out by Nolo Press for landlords. 

This is a first for us, so I have a few questions.Since the police were called and a police report filed, do we press charges or get our attorney involved?

Plus, it then delays the eviction.What you could do is write up a settlement agreement for the tenant saying you will agree not to press charges or sue her for writing a check without sufficient funds, if she is gone by the weekend and leaves the place clean (or some version of that). 

This is the clause from the Nolo Press contract I used in California. 

And in that case, the court would agree the document just has an error on it, which is not enforceable.If you have a copy of the original ad, you could press the point, if you are sure they knew that was what you intended the contract to show.If you also have any other communication such as an email or text that indicates they knew the real deal, that would be perfect. 

@Josh Crawford By the way, I love the Nolo Press book for California landlords, and it includes contracts and other forms. 

So, it's not that hard to learn  - if you don't already know it.I love the Nolo Press books.