My wife recently passed away. Other than a Death Certificate, what documents do I need to transfer the funds from her accounts over to mine?
If the accounts were joint accounts with you, you should need nothing more than the death certificate. Those accounts became yours at the time of your wife's death.
If the accounts were only in your wife's name, you could face two scenarios:
1. If the balances are small and your state has a law that allows banks to pay small accounts over to a next of kin, you should contact the bank and ask what documentation, if any, they require in addition to a copy of the death certificate and something to document your kinship. You may need to provide a document on which any other potential heirs sign off, releasing any claim on the accounts.
2. If the balances are too large for your state law to help (of if your state doesn't have a "small estates" provision), the accounts are part of your wife's estate, and an estate representative (executor or administrator approved by the court) will need to claim the funds and distribute them.
Published on BankingQuestions.com 1/23/08
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