My mom recently passed and I just closed all of her accounts. After I closed them, I received a check made out to her from the state. I have her death certificate and she has no estate. Am I liable to cash this check? How do I go about doing that?
The short answer -- you can't. The state may be able to reissue the check to you if you can demonstrate to the state agency's satisfaction that no probate will be made of your mother's estate, and that you are her only heir. Otherwise, you may have to find out from the probate court whether you can initiate any streamlined estate process to obtain the authority to negotiate the check in the name of the estate. That process might be more expensive than it's worth.
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The short answer -- you can't. The state may be able to reissue the check to you if you can demonstrate to the state agency's satisfaction that no probate will be made of your mother's estate, and that you are her only heir. Otherwise, you may have to find out from the probate court whether you can initiate any streamlined estate process to obtain the authority to negotiate the check in the name of the estate. That process might be more expensive than it's worth.
