Brother Passed Away, No Power of Attny

What is the name of your state? CT
My brother passed away in 2003. When that happened we had setup an online banking account and have access to funds that were still there to assist in funeral expenses. He did not have a chance to appoint me as the executor or give me power of Attny. My husband paid for all funeral expenses out of pocket. We are wondering what we can do to obtain the remaining funds in his account. We do have full access as well as my brother's checkbook, atm card etc. We do not want probate to take the funds.
My husband said he would just transfer the money to a paypal account but started thinking that he would be charged with Fraud.
Is there anything we can do at this point ?
The reason why we are persuing this 4 years later is because we just got an email notification regarding an on-line account statement. We thought that his girl friend had withdrawn the money from the account but that is not the case. The account is in his name only.

Thanks

searay_43 said:

What is the name of your state? CT
My brother passed away in 2003. When that happened we had setup an online banking account and have access to funds that were still there to assist in funeral expenses. He did not have a chance to appoint me as the executor or give me power of Attny. My husband paid for all funeral expenses out of pocket. We are wondering what we can do to obtain the remaining funds in his account. We do have full access as well as my brother's checkbook, atm card etc. We do not want probate to take the funds.
My husband said he would just transfer the money to a paypal account but started thinking that he would be charged with Fraud.
Is there anything we can do at this point ?
The reason why we are persuing this 4 years later is because we just got an email notification regarding an on-line account statement. We thought that his girl friend had withdrawn the money from the account but that is not the case. The account is in his name only.

Thanks

Click to expand...

The funds can only be released to the Personal Representative of your brother's estate via Letters of Testamentary/Admininstration issued by Probate Division of the Court. Any other means of obtaining the funds is criminal.

How much money is in the account? Probate is very simple and you need to check at the county courthouse to see if there is a special procedure to expedite a smaller estate. The cost may be less than you are thinking--probate is not prohibitively expensive, just basically paying court costs.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])

Connecticut Intestate Succession Laws

If any part of a Connecticut decedent's estate is not effectively disposed of by will, the intestate share will be distributed in the following order and manner:

1. Surviving spouse. A surviving spouse is generally first in line to get any assets from the intestate estate. However, the amount a surviving spouse is entitled to varies as follows:

* If there is no surviving issue (i.e., children or grandchildren) or parent of decedent, the surviving spouse gets the whole intestate estate.
* If decedent's surviving issue are also issue of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse is entitled to the first $100,000 of the intestate estate, plus one-half of the remaining balance of the intestate estate.
* If there are surviving issue, one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, the surviving spouse gets one-half of the intestate estate.
* If there is no surviving issue, but the decedent is survived by at least one parent, the surviving spouse gets the first $100,000 of the intestate estate, plus three-quarters of the remaining balance of the estate.

2. Heirs other than surviving spouse. Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse as indicated above, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows to:

1. Decedent's issue.
2. Decedent's parent or parents equally.
3. Decedent's brothers and sisters and those who legally represent them.
4. Decedent's next of kin in equal degree.
5. Decedent's stepchildren and those who legally represent them.

3. State of Connecticut. As a matter of last resort, if there is no taker under any of the above provisions, the intestate estate passes to the state of Connecticut.

Connecticut Intestate Succession Law Fun Facts

* Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood.
* Bad parents get what they deserve under these laws. A parent who abandons a minor child and continues such abandonment until the child's death is not allowed to inherit anything from the child's intestate estate.
* Evildoers beware! Any person who is finally adjudged guilty of murdering the decedent (either as a principal or as an accessory) cannot inherit or receive any of decedent's estate. Instead, such property descends as if the person causing or procuring decedent's death had predeceased the decedent.
* Connecticut's intestate succession laws, as well as other related laws, can be found in Title 45a of the General Statutes of Connecticut.

Copyright 2002 - 2007, CCH Incorporated, a Wolters Kluwer business. All Rights Reserved.


http://www.finance.cch.com/pops/c50s10d190_CT.asp

Other than the brother you mention, did the dead guy have any other heirs?

Children, sister, brother, mother, father, cousins?

No other heirs

No he had o other heirs. So we should file with probate in the town he lived in to request a withdrawl from his account ?

searay_43 said:

So we should file with probate in the town he lived in to request a withdrawl from his account ?

Click to expand...

Yes. The court will issue the Personal Representative letters of testamentary/administration. Upon presenting the paperwork to the bank, the bank will issue a check payable to the estate of the deceased.

Thanks So much for your responses

I appreciate your responses to my question. I came accross this forum while searching for probate information.
This is a great tool. I hope that it does not get abused !

Rick