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payable on death account

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Gianni123

Junior Member
What is the name of your state?NY

If a POD account was held by the deceased and one of the beneficiaries does that money go into the pot to be distributed with other named beneficiaries?
 


seniorjudge

Senior Member
Q: If a POD account was held by the deceased and one of the beneficiaries does that money go into the pot to be distributed with other named beneficiaries?


A: No; that does not pass through the probate estate; as soon as the holder of the account dies, it instantly goes to the beneficiary (well...the bank or whoever may need some kind of paperwork, but it belongs to the beneficiary as soon as the account holder passes).
 

Gianni123

Junior Member
POD account

NY
Thank you for your reply. Do you think these documents would enable a bank to release funds: Death certificate for the husband. Letter from wife renouncing any claim to all of her husband's assets. Original copy of husband's will prepared before marriage. In other words, there is no documentation from a probate court.
 

Gianni123

Junior Member
pod account

NY
I have checked with my own bank (in New Jersey) and they would require documentation showing that probate has been opened and the executor has been named.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
So, does the decedent have other assets that need to be probated, or none at all? Have you checked at the county courthouse to see if anyone has opened up probate for this estate?

Do NOT show the bank the copy of the husband's will prepared before his marriage. What does the wife say when you ask her about whether she intends to probate? Do YOU know where the original will is?

If she is not mentioned in the will that was prepared before she married him, then of course it's reasonable to expect that she won't get the will probated. She may be afraid that she won't get anything if she is not listed in the will, or maybe there are no other assets to be probated, but even if she is not listed in the will she will still be entitled to a portion of the estate (maybe she doesn't know her legal rights). But she is doing a disservice if she is deliberately withholding the will. If she won't make any effort to open up probate, then YOU can do so by hiring a probate attorney just for the purposes of getting letters testamentary authorizing executor to give you whatever information/documentation you need, and if there are other potential heirs, you will be helping them as well since your attorney can ask judge to ask wifey to produce the will for court.

However, you should know that under normal circumstances the bank should not be asking you to provide approval from the executor, so you should be asking them what specific New York state law requires this, if any. Please mention the name and address of the bank and I can refer you to a governmental official who can investigate your complaint about this if you wish to file such a complaint to see why they are making it difficult for you to claim your money. Death certificate should be adequate documentation for them to release your funds.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
Let's cut to the chase here.

Gianni123 said:
NY
I have checked with my own bank (in New Jersey) and they would require documentation showing that probate has been opened and the executor has been named.
Is the beneficiary of the POD account the wife of the deceased? If not, who is the beneficiary of this POD account?
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
BlondiePB said:
Is the beneficiary of the POD account the wife of the deceased? If not, who is the beneficiary of this POD account?
Poster said: If a POD account was held by the deceased and one of the beneficiaries does that money go into the pot to be distributed with other named beneficiaries?

So, we need to know who the deceased was and who the beneficiary is and what is their relationship.

You're right, BPB; it wasn't all that clear.
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
Poster said: If a POD account was held by the deceased and one of the beneficiaries does that money go into the pot to be distributed with other named beneficiaries?
After reading this again, I now have other questions that need to be asked to clarify things.

Is this a co-owned/joint account? If so, whose name(s) are on the account and what are their relationships?

Who are you in all this?

This should clear up the situation with this account.
 
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Gianni123

Junior Member
POD account

Dandy Don said:
So, does the decedent have other assets that need to be probated, or none at all? Have you checked at the county courthouse to see if anyone has opened up probate for this estate?

Do NOT show the bank the copy of the husband's will prepared before his marriage. What does the wife say when you ask her about whether she intends to probate? Do YOU know where the original will is?

If she is not mentioned in the will that was prepared before she married him, then of course it's reasonable to expect that she won't get the will probated. She may be afraid that she won't get anything if she is not listed in the will, or maybe there are no other assets to be probated, but even if she is not listed in the will she will still be entitled to a portion of the estate (maybe she doesn't know her legal rights). But she is doing a disservice if she is deliberately withholding the will. If she won't make any effort to open up probate, then YOU can do so by hiring a probate attorney just for the purposes of getting letters testamentary authorizing executor to give you whatever information/documentation you need, and if there are other potential heirs, you will be helping them as well since your attorney can ask judge to ask wifey to produce the will for court.

However, you should know that under normal circumstances the bank should not be asking you to provide approval from the executor, so you should be asking them what specific New York state law requires this, if any. Please mention the name and address of the bank and I can refer you to a governmental official who can investigate your complaint about this if you wish to file such a complaint to see why they are making it difficult for you to claim your money. Death certificate should be adequate documentation for them to release your funds.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
Thank you so much for your reply.
The decedent has other assets.
The wife is not mentioned in the will. It states that the testator is single.
We have the will.
We have not been to the bank yet as death just occurred.
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
Gianni123, there are very good reasons I asked the questions I asked. You stated that the deceased held an account with a beneficiary. I am understanding this statement to mean that the account is a joint/co-owned account. If this is so, then that account is not POD until the other co-owner is deceased.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
BlondiePB said:
After reading this again, I now have other questions that need to be asked to clarify things.

Is this a co-owned/joint account? If so, whose name(s) are on the account and what are their relationships?

Who are you in all this?

This should clear up the situation with this account.
Poster, answer these questions so we can answer yours.
 

BlondiePB

Senior Member
Is anyone other than me curious as to the age of the surviving spouse? To me, that is another good question and can have some implications.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
BlondiePB said:
Is anyone other than me curious as to the age of the surviving spouse? To me, that is another good question and can have some implications.
I will have to assume that the poster doesn't really want answers because poster will not give us details.

So, poster will just have to go without an answer!

Oh, well. :D
 

Gianni123

Junior Member
Pod

Please accept my apologies. I goofed. My original question did not refer to a POD, but it was in this thread so you and the others who replied naturally assumed it was in reference to a POD account. I unintentionally highjacked this thread. My question was a hypothetical one, assuming, for the time being, that any bank account owned by the deceased was in his name only. But at least now I know what to expect in case he did have a POD.
Again, I'm sorry.
 
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