Kannapolis
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Alabama
Mother in law recently passed with a will.
Bank Accounts and CDs already had her son's name on them as an owner. He has already been writing checks and transferring money to pay her bills and funeral expenses.
Only other properties are her car and home, both of which are paid for. She had NOT put her son's name on them, so these should be the items that the will is addressing.
Will should be placed in probate as soon as death certificate is received. He is executor and sole beneficiary or his heirs, per stirpes.
Question is this:
Are the bank accounts subject to the will?
We want to take her name off of the accounts as soon as practiable (upon death certificate receipt as per bank) because we do not bank with her bank and they were ripping her on the CD rates. They already said there will not be a penalty for redeeming them prior to maturity because of her death. We want to transfer the monies to our bank and continue to pay her expenses as needed.
Also, the deep dark family secret. Mother had a daughter when she was like 15 or 16 - she was 87 when she passed. The daughter was NOT the child of her husband - it was 10+years before she married my husband's father. Mother's money ALL accumulated through the marriage to my husband's father. She didnt work. In 30 years of marriage, I have never met this woman and really dont know if she is even alive. Cant even find a birth certificate for her (any my mother in law still had paperwork from the forties!)
Is there anyway she can collect ANYTHING from this small estate?
And lastly, probate in Alabama appears to take 6 months to close. We need to sell her home and car. She has NO debts or anything. Is there a way to bypass this 6 months?
Thanks
Mother in law recently passed with a will.
Bank Accounts and CDs already had her son's name on them as an owner. He has already been writing checks and transferring money to pay her bills and funeral expenses.
Only other properties are her car and home, both of which are paid for. She had NOT put her son's name on them, so these should be the items that the will is addressing.
Will should be placed in probate as soon as death certificate is received. He is executor and sole beneficiary or his heirs, per stirpes.
Question is this:
Are the bank accounts subject to the will?
We want to take her name off of the accounts as soon as practiable (upon death certificate receipt as per bank) because we do not bank with her bank and they were ripping her on the CD rates. They already said there will not be a penalty for redeeming them prior to maturity because of her death. We want to transfer the monies to our bank and continue to pay her expenses as needed.
Also, the deep dark family secret. Mother had a daughter when she was like 15 or 16 - she was 87 when she passed. The daughter was NOT the child of her husband - it was 10+years before she married my husband's father. Mother's money ALL accumulated through the marriage to my husband's father. She didnt work. In 30 years of marriage, I have never met this woman and really dont know if she is even alive. Cant even find a birth certificate for her (any my mother in law still had paperwork from the forties!)
Is there anyway she can collect ANYTHING from this small estate?
And lastly, probate in Alabama appears to take 6 months to close. We need to sell her home and car. She has NO debts or anything. Is there a way to bypass this 6 months?
Thanks