Can an authorized user of a checking accountwithdraw funds after the account holder dies? The withdrawal was made by someone other than the personal representative of the deceased.
An authorized signer's authority ends at the time of death of the account owner. However, if the bank was not aware that the account owner had died, the bank would not normally be liable for allowing the withdrawal. If the authorized signer was not aware of the account owner's death, the withdrawal would not be considered improper in most states. If the authorized user knew of the fact of the owner's death, the withdrawal was fraudulent, and the estate of the deceased owner can go after the former authorized user to recover the funds.
BankingQuestions.com is a free service made possible by the generous support of our advertisers. Advertisers are not responsible for site content. Please help us keep BankingQuestions.com FREE by supporting our advertisers. When you see an ad for a product or service you may have an interest in, click through to learn more.
Accounts
Article
Q&A
Podcast
Video
Blog
Discussions
PDF
Powerpoint
An authorized signer's authority ends at the time of death of the account owner. However, if the bank was not aware that the account owner had died, the bank would not normally be liable for allowing the withdrawal. If the authorized signer was not aware of the account owner's death, the withdrawal would not be considered improper in most states. If the authorized user knew of the fact of the owner's death, the withdrawal was fraudulent, and the 