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Home >> Special Situations >> Deceased Individuals
Sole Survivor Tries to Get Account Information
My only sister, who lived in another state (Virginia), died in September, 2009. Our parents are deceased. She never married and has no children. My brother and I are her closest living relatives. We have not been able to locate a Will, nor did she ever mention having made one. I called her bank, informed them of her death, but they refuse to give me access to her account or any information about it. I am the sole living beneficiary on her life insurance and my brother and I share as beneficiaries on her retirement fund. Neither of these accounts were with this particular bank. How can I get information about and/or access to the account? It seems this bank is being unreasonable. They won't even tell me if she designated any benificiaries on the account.
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 The fact that the bank is being tight-lipped about the account suggests that you, at least, were not listed as a beneficiary on the account. We suggest that your brother make the same inquiry to see if he gets the same lack of response.
You or your brother should ask the bank a different question if it continues to deny your information. Ask them if Virginia law allows small decedent accounts to be paid out to a next of kin, and what the bank's procedural requirements are for such a payout.
If the bank cannot or will not pay out the account to you and your brother as next of kin, you and your brother will have to decide whether it would be worth the expense to probate the estate, which can be done without a will. Of course, you'll need some idea of the account's balance to make that decision, and you may have to pore over your late sister's files to find a statement or some other indication.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 3/11/10
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