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Unable to deposit check in my account

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Harveytex

Junior Member
A brief history of events:

My mother-in-law died several years ago. Then a couple of years after that my father-in-law also died. My wife was named Executrix of his Will. Being that there was no great amout of property involved she and her two siblings agreed to dispose of his personal property and split the proceeds three ways. The Will did not go thru probate.

My wife has recently received a check made out to the "Estate of (mother-in-law)" in settlement of a claim she had filed several years before her death. As yet we have been unable to get our bank to accept the check as a deposit in our joint account. The amount of the check would be quickly eaten up if the services of an attorney becomes necessary. Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.

If this is in the wrong forum area please let me know and I will repost.

Thank you.
 
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justalayman

Senior Member
the problem is; it is made to the estate and you are trying to put it into your account. It never works when you try to put another person's unendorsed check into your account. It isn't yours so the bank won't accept it.

What was ever done with the MIL's estate? Probated? Were there outstanding debts left over from either the MIL's or FIL's estate?
 

Harveytex

Junior Member
Reply to justalayman

Neither MIL or FIL's will was ever probated. There were no outstanding debts in either case. What should I do, throw the check ($2000.00) away and forget it? There must be a way to resolve this!
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Neither MIL or FIL's will was ever probated. There were no outstanding debts in either case. What should I do, throw the check ($2000.00) away and forget it? There must be a way to resolve this!
since nobody has or even had any rights to act as an administrator when the estates were dealt with, nobody does now either.

Not knowing what the the payment is for, you might speak with whomever issued the check. In some cases, with proof of death, they might re-issue it to an heir. They may have some more hoops to jump through but short of obtaining legal authority to act for the MIL's estate, both you and the bank are very limited in what you can do.
 

Harveytex

Junior Member
Not knowing what the the payment is for, you might speak with whomever issued the check. In some cases, with proof of death, they might re-issue it to an heir. They may have some more hoops to jump through but short of obtaining legal authority to act for the MIL's estate, both you and the bank are very limited in what you can do.
This was the payment from Dow Corning in settlement of a suit filed about 1990 or so in reference to defective breast implants that were used after cancer surgery. Being in our seventies we may not live long enough to see them react with a re-issued check.:) So we have to find some other way to get this resolved. Thanks for your input.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
part of the big problem is; nobody was ever administrator of MIL's estate. If there was, you can sometimes re-open probate to deal with issues that crop up. Since there was nothing, you would have to open probate which is likely to just cause a lot of problems.
 

Harveytex

Junior Member
Problem Solved

I just heard from my bank and they have decided to allow me to deposit the check into my account. I wonder if the fact that I have been banking with them for over thirty years and presently have over $100,000.00 deposited in their bank had anything to do with their decision? In any case the problem has been solved. Thanks again for all the information.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
that's all well and good except is isn't your money. The fact that is was first, your wifes mother and then that she has siblings who would share equally in the estate, this action could present a problem if discovered and anybody wants to make an issue about this.

hopefully those issues were considered and addressed prior to them accepting the check.
 

Harveytex

Junior Member
hopefully those issues were considered and addressed prior to them accepting the check.
Please don't cast doubts on my (our) integrety. Although the money was deposited in our account checks have been written distributing the money to all that are due a share. Maybe it was not to the letter of the law but the end result was just and fair. -=THE END=-
 

>Charlotte<

Lurker
Nobody is casting any doubts on anyone's integrity. It's a legal issue. The bank must follow banking regulations, regardless of whether you have $100k or $100 dollars in your account. If they found some wiggle room which enabled you to deposit the check, that's fine, but under certain circumstances it could very well pose a significant problem. No one here knows if those circumstances exist, it was just cautionary advice to make sure you understood.

I certainly hope you spend that money more graciously than you accepted the excellent and free advice you were only too happy to ask for.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Please don't cast doubts on my (our) integrety. Although the money was deposited in our account checks have been written distributing the money to all that are due a share. Maybe it was not to the letter of the law but the end result was just and fair. -=THE END=-
I hadn't. Sorry you are so touchy but regardless of your intent and integrity, it still was not a legal means to distribute the money. Since all that were due a share, it would be unlikely anything would ever come from this. The fact remains, it was not done properly and as such, could be a problem if the method is questioned.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
If the check writer sees that the money was NOT deposited properly, they can request that the deposit be reversed due to fraud.
 

Antigone*

Senior Member
If the check writer sees that the money was NOT deposited properly, they can request that the deposit be reversed due to fraud.
Exactly.... I've seen that happen.

No complaints, OP if your checks start bouncing. If my memory serves me correctly a fraud claim can be filed up to 1 year (and maybe as long as three) I don't feel like looking up the reference.
 

wrc

Junior Member
Check made out to Estate and deposited into personal account

Exactly.... I've seen that happen.

No complaints, OP if your checks start bouncing. If my memory serves me correctly a fraud claim can be filed up to 1 year (and maybe as long as three) I don't feel like looking up the reference.
I had a check made out to the Estate and the bank deposited it into a personal checking account. The check should have been made out to the individual in the first place because she was the beneficiary of the Annuity. The problem I've got now is whether or not I need to do a tax return for the Estate since the 1099R shows the Estate received the $. I would rather just do a personal return and explain to the IRS that the Annuity company made a mistake. What do you think
 

Proserpina

Senior Member
I had a check made out to the Estate and the bank deposited it into a personal checking account. The check should have been made out to the individual in the first place because she was the beneficiary of the Annuity. The problem I've got now is whether or not I need to do a tax return for the Estate since the 1099R shows the Estate received the $. I would rather just do a personal return and explain to the IRS that the Annuity company made a mistake. What do you think


I think you need to start your own thread instead of answering one which is over 3 years old :)
 

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