My father passed away in early February of this year. He was married two weeks before he passed. The only people named in his will are his new wife who has been writing checks out of his account and myself. She is named the personal representative in the will, but hasn't been given a letter of administration yet.
I provided my father's bank with a copy of his death certificate but they say that the only person who can do anything about the fraudulent charges is the representative who happens to be the person writing the checks. Is this true? If so do I have any recourse? Is there any way I can prevent her from writing checks on my father's account?
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If your father's widow was a joint owner of the account prior to your father's death, it's generally the case that the ownership of the account passed directly to her, and she would have the right to do whatever she pleased with the funds. State laws vary, but that would be the norm.
If the widow was not the joint account owner at the time of your father's death and the bank has not yet received a copy of the widow's appointment as representative of the estate, most states' laws would dictate that the bank should not be honoring checks drawn on the account. In such a case, as an individual with an interest in the account, you should be able to order the bank to stop paying funds out until they receive the appropriate paperwork from the court.
You should contact an attorney to clarify what your rights are in this situation. Each day you delay getting an attorney involved, is another day that the account can be tapped. You may even want to ask the attorney whether it would be wise to attempt to convince the court that your father's widow should not be accepted as executor of his estate.
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If your father's widow was a joint owner of the account prior to your father's death, it's generally the case that the ownership of the account passed directly to her, and she would have the right to do whatever she pleased with the funds. State laws vary, but that would be the norm.