How does the Executor get access to the bank accounts , etc. of the deceased ?

subscribed. my time is coming, too.

Take the death certificate and a copy of the Will to the bank. They'll take care of it.

To deal with instutions and .gov agencies via mail, go to a notary and have them notarize about a dozen copies of both documents as true copies of the original. Make a digital copy of one true copy for those that accept scanned versions.

Yes.

You will need the will and a copy of the death certificate. Present these to the Supervisor or account manager, and they will assist you with what you need. Don't expect to walk in and close out accounts right away, in my experience there was verification and estate timelines that had to be dealt with.

The worst were the credit card companies. They would do anything in their power to get it to the next bill cycle in order to generate a few more pennies of interest.

This, and depending on the estate and circumstances, you may want to locate a good estate lawyer in the event you find yourself in probate court - if you are one family member among many, this will likely apply even if uncontested.

What about if there are family members who are contentious about the will, trust, estate, etc.? Has anyone here had experience with such circumstances? How did you handle it?

selogic - if you'd rather I start a different thread with these questions, and more, let me know and I'll butt out of your thread.

Try with the death certificate and will, but most likely you are going to need to open an estate if only the deceased is on the bank account. If the value is below a certain amount your state may have an affidavit process. Letters of Administration will be issued by the probate court that gets you access and is what the bank will most likely require. If it's not too late, get POD, TOD, and if your state has it, beneficiary deeds done. If there is real estate only in the deceased's name, you have a guaranteed ticket to probate court. In summary, call an attorney.

This was a mess for my grandmother's estate. Her caretaker refused to move out of the house. My folks couldn't sell the house until she had moved out, so they could clean it up, clear it out, etc. The really crazy thing is that my grandmother had left some money in her will to the caretaker, which my mom tried to explain to her, was not able to be paid until the house was sold and other bills paid off first. My folks had to go through official eviction proceedings before the lady came to her senses.

It depends a little in the State you're in. But when my father passed it was only my sister and I, and everything was to be split 50/50 and there really wasn't all that much money, but a lot of various things that weren't worth a whole lot individually......small boats....old cars..... So I handled it without a lawyer and with the death certificate and will, went to the bank and they handled the aspect of the account. I found a friend of mine that bought the property and all of the items as a whole for a very fair price and we sold everything in one lump sum and split the proceeds after paying off debts.

In my case there is, fortunately, an estate attorney that will handle things when the time comes. I'm just curious as to how involved the executor has to be - especially with family who turn everything into a circus act about them.

If I can just say, "Talk to the attorney." and be done with it that would be great. It would be undesirable if I as executor have to be more involved with them than that.

Just mentally preparing for an event that I hope won't happen for years to come. Shoot, I might die before the person for whom I'm the executor so no worries then!

The reason I'm asking is because my wife has gotten this crazy idea that we should have our son ( the Executor )sign on to our bank accounts so that when the time comes it will be easier for him to access the accounts .I trust my son but I just think it's neither necessary nor wise to add him to the accounts .

I was the executor of my mothers estate in Tennessee. In Tennessee, I advise to probate the estate & hire an attorney! Probate will save you from problems that may arise later. Six months after filing for probate, the estate is closed & no further claims can be made against the estate unless the estate is reopened by the court. Any claims against the estate are no longer valid 12 months from date of death. My mothers estate was simple but after the probate court finalized the estate I received hospital bills. The bills were not valid but since the estate was finalized by probate, I did not have to deal with the claims.

quote:

it's neither necessary nor wise to add him to the accounts

In TN If the bank account is a joint account, it is not part of the estate & the money is the property of the surviving account holder. In TN as executor, the probate court will issue the document giving access to the deceased accounts.

My wife and I have placed everything into trusts with adult children trustees named so we can pretty much avoid probate. We did living wills at the same time. You can set it up so your trustee gains access at the time of your passing or incapacity. We did this with both of our parents and it made life so much easier not having to deal with probate. You don't want to give access to your bank accounts to anyone you don't absolutely trust. The laws are different in every state so what worked for me might not apply. My advice is to sit down with a good estate lawyer and work it out on paper long before the time of need.

My wife was executor for her parents estate.

Best described as a nightmare, she enlisted the help of a fairly expensive attorney. It would have been impossible without.

Even with his help, siblings and other family members raided accounts, jewelry, possessions like tools and firearms, and anything not nailed down.

Those who were friendly family she'd known since infancy became adversaries, in a few cases vicious ones, when it came to dividing up property. My wife was assigned executor by her parents, who thought she'd be most level headed and neutral, and most likely to fullfill their wishes, and be fair. She was.

My wife also considered the assignment a curse.

The garage is still filled with a mountain of legal boxes that we'll probably be stuck with forever.

quote:

Originally posted by selogic:
The reason I'm asking is because my wife has gotten this crazy idea that we should have our son ( the Executor )sign on to our bank accounts so that when the time comes it will be easier for him to access the accounts .I trust my son but I just think it's neither necessary nor wise to add him to the accounts .

My wife was added to some of her fathers accounts prior to his death, and not only did it make it easier to close, as she was listed on the account, it was deemed her money and didn't have to go thorough probate (there was under 2k in the account, your situation may vary).
This was a case of walk in, close account, and walk out with check in 15 minutes. Nothing like I went through when I dealt the accounts she wasn't added to.

Done it two times. Estates not large in either case but required probate. Got an estate lawyer to handle setting up paperwork and make all the filings, some I might add I would never have thought of. He got a court order document that recognized me as executor of estate which with copy of death certificate was all I needed to handle everything. Cost in both cases was only a few hundred dollars. As soon as probate cleared I was done. My wife and her sister decided to handle their Mom's estate themselves and long story short lost a few thousand dollars plus took over twice as long to settle estate. Moral, get advice but get a lawyer.

I agree with low8option, consult with a lawyer.

ScubaSteve hit it on the head. Might get it done with the will and an original of the death certificate. But much easier and cleaner with "Letters Testamentary" from the probate court that acknowledge your position as administrator of the estate.

On death certificates, you will need several originals as most entities that are transferring assets will want an original certified (by the State) copy. Funeral directors know this and will generally guide you and will order multiple originals for you but if not, instruct them to do that.

Another option to think about is adding your son on as a "Payable on Death" holder to the account. We did that for my grandmothers accounts, all he'd have to do is show the death cert and he'd gain full access to the account to close it out, while keeping it out of the estate (and possible probate).

This might be your best option to make the wife happy, AND keep him from having any access right now.