Statute of Limitations for multiple beneficiaries

[scanli27]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York

I am named on my deceased father's bank account as a beneficiary, but there is also another beneficiary named on that same account who is entitled to half of the account, and no one in the family knows this person. The bank has tried to make contact with that person but have not had any success. The bank rep told me that if the person does not claim the money within 5 years that the money will pass to me in full. I am just wondering if this is true, and whether the 5 year period starts running from the time the bank was notified of his death or from the time the bank recieved a copy of the letters of administration.

 

[latigo]

Before speaking of that which he appears to know nothing about, your New York banker needs to have the in-house counsel acquaint him with the statutes of the state of New York on “unclaimed property”!

Unless the account is set up with rights of survivorship between the beneficiaries, I would be interested in hearing the banker’s explanation as to how you could legally succeed to the whole enchilada.

 

[Dandy Don]

What you were told is not true. The money belongs to the joint account co-owner and you don't know how hard the bank tried to locate the person. You will NOT be able to get that person's share.

Hire a private investigator yourself to locate the person, or post a search message on the website zabasearch.com where you can post messages to locate people and also look at the Social Security Death Index to see if perhaps the person is deceased..

 

[scanli27]

Thank You!

Thank you both for your replies and great advice. I had a feeling that this could not be true. I will see if I can speak to the legal team at the bank and find out how exactly the account was setup and what they have done to contact the beneficiary. I have a feeling the person named does not reside in the U.S. but I am going to do everything possible to find her or her relatives.

 

[justalayman]

unless you are a joint owner of the account and would inherit the remainder of the account should the other owner be considered dead or missing long enough to allow the account to be treated as such, why waste your time? You already said you have no idea who it is and since you would never be entitled to the money, let the bank do what they do with money that is not claimed.