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Time limits on POD's

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b5454

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Ohio

Is there a time limit for a recipient to claim a POD? The bank told me they could not release any information to anybody BUT the executor. The executor of the estate in question is not communicating information and not willing to answer my question regarding the specific account.
 


b5454

Junior Member
I did find out about time limitations to claiming a POD from the bank. They said it is a couple years. Now for another question**************if an account (specifically CD's and Savings) has a beneficiary on the account, but has not been claimed as of yet, can the executors transfer those funds into the estate trust fund to process the will?

The bank cannot tell me anything because the accounts in question have all been closed and transfered into the estate trust account. The executor will not share any information with me (yes I am a beneficiary of the estate) because as per state law, he as an executor does not have to tell me anything.

So, I am here to become as knowledgable as possible before hiring an attorney. Please help~
 

anteater

Senior Member
Yeah, the bank would retain the account until Ohio law dictates that it should be turned over to the state as unclaimed property. That is usually mesured in years.

Unless all the account beneficiary(ies) have passed away, I have no idea why the financial institutions would release the funds to the esate executor.

You still have not answered the question: Are you the POD beneficiary?

Have you gone to the probate court and reviewed the case file?
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
What state law says that an executor doesn't have to give a beneficiary any information about the estate? That's too difficult to believe. At some point he is gong to have to provide an accounting to the court and you can determine then whether the POD's have been included as a part of the estate or not.

What may have happened is that he could have gotten power of attorney before the death of the decedent occurred and could have used that to change the beneficiary designations to someone else's name or maybe there were NO designated beneficiaries, thus requiring these to go automatically into the estate.

What reason did you have for believing that YOUR name was on the POD?

Wait for the probate process to play itself out. If you are not given information about the POD then get your own attorney to see how you should proceed.

Is there a will being probated and have you checked to see if you are a beneficiary in the will?

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

b5454

Junior Member
None of the accounts (there were several CD's and one Savings that I know of) were POD accounts. However, I was wondering if there were different procedures regarding sole accounts with named beneficiaries. The accounts have since been put into an estate trust. I called the bank asking if my name and SS# appeared anywhere. He checked and said that all the money has been transfered for which the bank could not give me any information on closed accounts, however, he advised that I get in touch with an attorney to see if monies are owed to me - his tone of voice struck me in a way he made me believe there was. So, is it possible that accounts with 'beneficiaries' go into the general estate trust?

I have been told by both my brother (the exec) and the attorney, that as an executor, they do not need to share anything with me. I've also gotten confirmation from another person who is going through this. However, anything that is in probate is public information and I am free to go to the court to get copies. Before doing that, I would like to wait for more information to be posted on the dockets. And yes, I am a beneficiary on specific items, however, I am not sure if I would have been on some of these accounts. Based on nasty comments made by my brother, monies were left to him, and based on how my father was (very fair) I think there may have been a possibility that he did the same for me.
 

anteater

Senior Member
None of the accounts (there were several CD's and one Savings that I know of) were POD accounts. However, I was wondering if there were different procedures regarding sole accounts with named beneficiaries.
Huh?

POD means Pay on Death. It means that the account owner has done paperwork with the financial institution naming a beneficiary for that account. That beneficiary designation is now part of the contract between the account owner and the financial institution. The beneficiary designation takes precedence over what a will might say. The account does not pass through the probate estate for distribution. Upon the death of the owner, the designated POD beneficiary only (usually) has to take a death certificate and their own identification to the financial institution to obtain the funds in the account.

I have no idea what you mean by "sole accounts with named beneficiaries." Do you mean that the deceased designated a beneficiary for a specific account in the will? If you do, then the probate estate does handle that.

Otherwise...

seniorjudge: Post back when you have purchased a complete copy of the court file and reviewed same.
 

Dandy Don

Senior Member
You are being screwed over by your brother and if you don't get an attorney he will get away with it. As a normal part of the probate process, executors are supposed to provide information to beneficiaries and if he won't that is an indication that he is hiding something.

DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
 

b5454

Junior Member
Don,
Thank you for your reply**************.I was getting the same feeling. I want to wait to see how the probate plays itself out a little more. If I understand the state laws, I can file a lawsuit against the executor even after the case has been closed. You'd be amazed at the things I have been told by both the executor and the attorney handling the case.
 

anteater

Senior Member
You are being screwed over by your brother and if you don't get an attorney he will get away with it.
DANDY DON IN OKLAHOMA ([email protected])
And what evidence do you have to support that? There is no hint that the executor is doing anything wrong.

As a normal part of the probate process, executors are supposed to provide information to beneficiaries and if he won't that is an indication that he is hiding something.
That is an indication of nothing more than that the executor doesn't want to waste a bunch of his or the estate attorney's time providing information that he is not required to provide. Maybe you could provide references to the Ohio statutes that require more than notice to the beneficiaries that probate is being opened and appointment as executor is being made.
 

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