Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A bank will talk to you if you have one of the three powers of attorney.
You can draw up a Limited Power of Attorney which will grant you certain rights.
One right would be to review her account. Your ability to access her bank statement and review the transactions will help protect her from various frauds and scams that are perpetrated on the elderly.
Also, many banks have beneficiary transactions. These are often referred to as "payable on death" accounts. When the account holder dies, the bank will, upon proper notification, disburse the monies to the named beneficiaries. When the beneficiary has an account at the same bank, the monies are transferred and if not, they're wired or a cashier's check is issued.
It's automatic.
When someone dies, their body emits electromagnetic radiation which travels through and around the Earth to telepathically inform the special humans who are tuned to that specific electromagnetic wavelength, and then a Unicorn goes round to each person to verify that person telepathically received the correct information. A Leprechaun goes round later to conduct a survey to determine if each person was satisfied with the electromagnetic transmission.
The bank will talk to you as long as the person for whom the power of attorney was created is still alive. Once they are dead the power of attorney is no longer effective. So, yes, while this person is alive the OP can review the account records and talk to the people at the bank about the account. A power of attorney is a power of agency. Agency terminates when the principal who created it dies.
If the OP wants to avoid probating this account the account either needs to be made a joint account with other living persons on it. Or, if the state law permits it can as you say be made payable on death.
These things need to be checked out and taken care of before death or before the person is too infirm to do something like sign a power of attorney. Unfortunately, I have seen this before.
Mom was the last to die and a few days after her death the account was locked.
I go to the bank and say I am on the account, let me in. Nope. You are an authorized user not an owner and the owner has died.
I gave them the death certificate and the bank transferred (wink, wink) the balance (about $600) into my account at the same bank. Based on the conversation I suspect if it was a large amount she would not have done that and it would have been more complicated.
The dead cannot speak, enter into legally binding contracts and so forth. Thus once bank is informed of an account holders demise they are legally bound to shut things down.
If and or when someone with proper legal authority to access (executor, trustee, etc....) serves papers upon bank a new account will be set up for the estate with funds transferred from deceeased previous account. Those funds in new account are used by executor or whoever has legal power to pay bills, settle bequests, etc....
Authorized users on a bank or CC account are not same as account holders (joint and seperate). The latter are legally held responsible for the account, while the former merely has access.
Then you have pay on death (POD) notices on file with a bank account. Basically such notices instruct the bank to pay out funds upon account holder's demise to specifically named persons. This can be in total disregard to trusts and or last will and testaments. POD accounts are used as way to avoid probate, but some states treat assets as non-probate, others as just that regardless of intentions of deceased. Person named executor of estate will have to sort it out, and make sure things are done correctly.
However if the account is jointly held (say by man and wife), then obviously POD isn't going to work if one spouse remains living.
Bank accounts should be joint, POD or both. All you need is a death certificate to move the money.
All financial accounts should be checked annually for beneficiary, title, and POD designations. Bank accounts, investment accounts, employer accounts, life insurance accounts.
Almost all companies have online access to this information. Mailed statements may or may not have the POD as part of the account title.
That is a good point. Luzianne, you were a good daughter and a good sibling to pay the funeral expenses & bills and share the rest of the money. It is shocking how often people post in the Caregiver Forum (or other forums) that the person on the account just "takes" all the money.
Now, in some cases the parent may have wanted that to happen (for example, as payment for caregiving or to repay a loan), but in other cases the money was "supposed to be used" to pay for the funeral and other bills. That is why I believe in honesty and transparency regarding finances between elderly parents and their adult children.
We had this happen in my husband's family: My sister in law. So far she took a $1,000,000 account in the US and about $300k in an account in Mexico. The executor, my brother-in-law is still digging around. She wasn't a caregiver, but an employee at the family business. So was my sister-in-law and my husband and both were "let go" within months of my father-in-law's death. There are 5 lawyers working on the case, four abroad and one here to help gain access to the account here. The court has to recognize my brother-in-law as executor and then he can approach the bank.. rather, my husband, recognized as an auxiliary to the executor, will approach the bank.
The parent did not want this to happen. He had an updated, but unsigned, will that he had sent to all beneficiaries 6 months preceding his death that states clearly that all money is to be split, more or less equally between the three kids and a 2nd wife.
He was transparent, but for whatever the reason he didn't sign in the five days he was sick, but stable (the wife asserts he wasn't allowed to... yep, by the same person holding the purse strings).
I don't know how my sister-in-law sleeps at night...
Bank accounts should be joint, POD or both. All you need is a death certificate to move the money.
All financial accounts should be checked annually for beneficiary, title, and POD designations. Bank accounts, investment accounts, employer accounts, life insurance accounts.
Almost all companies have online access to this information. Mailed statements may or may not have the POD as part of the account title.
My experience has been that all banks will allow one to name a person(s) as a POD (I've dealt with 6-7 banks in the last few years). Some banks will allow a trust as a POD. We have identified a charitable account as the secondary beneficiary on our financial accounts with Schwab and Fidelity, but I have yet to find a bank that will allow it.
Generally bank accounts have beneficiaries and it passes right to them. If it is joint it just becomes the sole account of the other person. If neither it goes to the estate which should follow the will.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
