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Home >> Special Situations >> Deceased Individuals
Bank's Mixed Messages Create Hardship for Widow
My husband listed me as Payable on Death on his account in 2007. In 2009, we did a Power of Attorney for his account, because he was dying of cancer. He passed away. The first time I went to the bank expecting the Payable on Death to be a simple process, the bank told me that there was no record of it and that there would be a forty day hold. Now, after forty days, I went back and discovered that this person found the Payable on Death record, but informed me that the Power of Attorney took precedence over the Payable on Death and the Power of Attorney ended at my husband's death. Is this normal for banks to do? We were not informed that one would take precedence over the other, but knew the Power of Attorney would end at his death and expected the Payable on Death would then transition the account to me. The Will leaves everything to me, but that takes time.
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 No, it's not normal. A power of attorney can co-exist with a Payable on Death designation, and an attorney-in-fact does not generally have the authority to undo or revoke a Payable on Death designation unless the power of attorney gives that authority. We believe the bank erred, and unless there was an actual revocation of the pay on death designation, you have a legitimate argument that the funds are now yours. You may need to talk to an attorney to get help in convincing the bank of its error.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 3/02/10
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