Ex-Stepmother

[wib5037]

What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?What is the name of your state?KY
Since my last post the Court has appointed me Executor Of Dad's estate.
Went to the bank to close accounts and the account for the CD he had wasn't included.
It seems that his ex wife was still named as beneficiary on this account and the bank gave the money to her.
His savings are the same, she is still the benefactor. The divorce papers clearly state that they dissolve the account they had at another bank and divide as provided in the decree.
The checking, savings, and CD were his before they married. The bank manager says I need to have the savings account cleared by a court order.
Went to the court house and was referred to the probate judge who in turn said that I need legal counsul.
The savings is small.
Has anyone had this similar problem and how do you take care of it?
I see I have 3 options
1. get an attorney
2. contact my step mother and see if she will release this account to my dads estate.
3. or just leave it alone

My step mother doesn't know about this or i'm sure she would have already closed the account.
My brother and sister feel as I do and do not want her to have it, but see it may not be worth legal action.
It goes to show that in divorce or separation a person needs to take care of
all interest as quick as possible.

Thanks
wib5037

 

[Dandy Don]

If you leave it alone, it will eventually after a few years be turned in to Kentucky's Unclaimed Property Department.

It's very odd that the bank would tell you that you need legal counsel to resolve this, since if ex-wife was still named as beneficiary then why wouldn't he give the money to her? If you received letters testamentary when you filed to be executor, then the bank should be paying you that money if you present them with a certified copy of your letters testamentary. You need to be asking them again exactly WHO is the beneficiary of that account and ask them to show you the paperwork on that, but you should also be consulting with a probate or business law attorney about this. If there is no beneficiary named, then it belongs to the estate and you should insist on them paying you the check since you are official executor. If a beneficiary is named, then forget about it and inform the beneficiary so that they can get the money.

Something else: do you happen to know what the maturity date/redemption date was on the CD and how much it was worth? If the maturity date had been reached, then it was ok for the bank to pay the beneficiary. However, if the maturity date had NOT been reached, then the bank was wrong to pay the ex-wife, since technically the CD was still an asset of the estate for the executor to be informed about (if you chose to exercise the option, you could cash it in early, before the maturity date, and pay a small penalty for early cancellation). Without telling the bank the reason you are asking, you need to ask them what the maturity date was on the CD and also request a copy of the paperwork that showed the beneficiary designation. If they paid the ex-wife before the maturity date, if you wanted to, you could sue the bank for mishandling the CD proceeds.

You also need to have a probate attorney review the divorce decree to see exactly how the accounts were supposed to be handled--the way you have posted it it is hard to figure out what the papers actually say and exactly which accounts are being referred to.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])