|
 |
Home >> Special Situations >> Deceased Individuals
Setting Up an Estate Account
My grandmother just passed away and set up her two savings accounts as POD (Ohio). There is also a checking account. I had power of attorney and am executor of her estate, which is basically these three accounts. Half goes to her daughter and the other account is split three ways between two brothers and myself. How can I set up an account or utilize funds in the account to pay tax and other bills outstanding against the estate? I was told my power of attorney ended when she dies, but her Will gives the power to settle any and all claims against the estate.
|
Untitled
|
 The accounts you say your grandmother had established with POD designations, are payable to the beneficiaries named by your grandmother and are not part of her estate or subject to the terms of her Will, unless she revoked the POD designation prior to her death. It's possible that your grandmother's Will mentions those two accounts, but the mention in the Will does not affect the accounts if they still carried POD designations at the time of her death.
You said that you are named in the will as executor of your grandmother's estate. That designation expresses your grandmother's intent to the court (usually a probate court) that authorizes and oversees the settlement of the estate. For you to have actual authority to execute the Will, that has to be allowed by the court and you have to be approved by the court as executor. That will give you authority to manage the checking account and any other property in the estate (a vehicle, real estate, investments, etc.).
Settling an estate can be costly. If the checking account is the only asset in the estate, the bank may be able to pay the account balance to your grandmother's next of kin. Ask the bank if Ohio has a law that allows small accounts to be paid to kin without the need for probate proceedings. If the bank cannot accommodate that request, you'll have to obtain the court appointment as executor. For further information, consult the clerk of the probate division of the court of common pleas in your county, or an attorney conversant with the workings of probate in Ohio.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 2/04/09
|
| |
|
Accounts
Article
Q&A
Podcast
Video
Blog
Discussions
PDF
Powerpoint
