My Grandmother died a couple of months ago and had less than $3,000 in her checking account (no other assets), which would pay for approximately half of her funeral. The checking account only had her name on the account. She was a resident of the State of Michigan when she passed away but the will was written and signed in the State of Indiana. The will named my mother (her daughter) as sole beneficiary and executrix.
My Mom and I are confused as to how to gain access of the funds in my Grandmother’s account to help pay for her funeral. It seems a bit silly to hire and attorney when there is so little in the way of assets. There is also no chance of any contest of the will, so there is no reason at all for probate.
What kind of proof does a bank need in order to release funds to an executrix/executor? Would the bank accept the death certificate and a copy of the will, or does a bank require a court order to release funds in a checking account? Would the bank even comply with a court order to release funds? What happens when a bank doesn’t comply with the court order?
Most would require the death certificate and a certificate from the probate court that states it was a small estate and not subject to probate. Call the bank and ask them what their policy is.
Bank policy has nothing to do with it. Laws vary from state to state and the bank would be subject to those laws. Generally, the bank needs a death certificate and a copy of the will naming the executor. Calling the bank is good advice, since they see this situation often and will be familiar with the applicable laws and paperwork. I would speak to someone in the legal department, not a branch rep, just to make sure.
Most bank’s will not attempt to make their own interpretation as to the articles laid out in a Will. They will look for something from probate. If a court, under State law, sets forth that payment should be advanced, than any bank would certainly follow the order that the court laid out.
Short of a court order, bank policies are established to protect the bank from any contingent liability in an improper disbursement. Short of that order, banks have every right and the responsibility to have documented priocedures to handle the very situation that you haver brought up.
If Dr. Jackson has any disagreement with this, please show me a cite from any of the 50 States of the Union that lays out directions for a Bank to disburse funds under this situation.
Well, I’m not Dr Jackson and IANAL, but in Wisconsin, any potential beneficiary of an estate under the intestacy statute can access bank accounts of the deceased under certain circumstances and if the bank transfers funds to someone not legally entitled to them, the bank is insulated from all liability.
Also in Wisconsin there are statutory provisions for the handling of small estates without going through formal or informal probate. I don’t know about Michigan. I’d suggest as others have that your mother contact the bank and speak with someone with some knowledge in this area as to what the bank requires, and I’d also suggest she speak with a probate attorney. A consultation is going to set her back maybe $150 and if it keeps her from screwing something up down the line that costs the estate money, it’s worth it.
This is not legal advice. You may assume the poster doesn’t know any thing and has no assets or insurance. In fact, you are affirmatively told that the poster doesn’t know anything , has no assets and has no insurance. There is no professional or fiduciary relationship between you and the poster.
In some states and at some banks in those states, a bank will release the bank accounts of a dead person to a relative under an indemnity agreement between the bank and the relative. The indemnity agreement says that if the bank turns the account over to the relative the relative promises that there will not be any trouble and that if there is the relative will cover the bank’s butt. If the bank knows the people involved this will be done as a matter of routine. If you are lucky the bank’s lawyer will prepare the relatively short document at a minimal charge. What ever the charge, it will be substantially less than the cost of conducting even a small estate probate.
Odds are you won’t need much more than an “affidavit of heirship”, not unlike this one, properly completed and notarized, and the bank will turn over the funds. Call them up and ask.
Thanks, Otto, that is exactly what I meant and should satisfy barker’s demand for a cite. Each bank for which I have worked had a ‘policy’ to follow all applicable laws, be they state or federal. In a case like this, you can bet the ‘bank policy’ will be to follow state law to the letter.
My advice stands. Call the bank’s legal department and find out what paperwork the State of Michigan requires for this type of ownership transfer.
I don’t know what other heirs your grandmother had other than your mother under Michigan laws (which was the state of her domicile when she died, and hence the controlling state for her personal property). Indiana laws governing validity of wills will govern under the “full faith and credit” clause of the Const. As to any real estate she may have owned, the state in which the property is located will govern. However, if she had other heirs, they’d be entitled to a portion of her estate.
There is no will, and hence no executor, until the will is probated (“proved up”). It may not be worth the bother if she did not have much, but you should be aware that without probate all of heirs are entitled to a portion of her estate. It doesn’t cost much to file probate proceedings to just prove up a will.