My Wife's mother passed away and had an bank account in another state that had a significant amount of money in it and

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Customer: My Wife's mother passed away and had an bank account in another state that had a significant amount of money in it and her brother refuses to provide information on the account balance and/or has drained the account of the money. She is not sure if both his and her mothers name was on the account as he obtained a death certificate when she passed away in another country to take back to America with him to claim the assests in the band account. What can she do at this time in regards ***** ***** out what happened to the funds and what is her course of action at this time?
JA: Estate laws vary by state. What state are you in?
Customer: We live in Hawaii and the bank account was in Georgia where her brother lives.
JA: What documents or supporting evidence do you have?
Customer: She might have the bank account number or bank the account was located, but no statements that I am aware of at this time.
JA: Is there anything else the Lawyer should know before I connect you? Rest assured that they'll be able to help you.
Customer: The mother was not a US citizen, but both her son and daughter are Citizen's of the USA.

Answered by Jessica B in 10 hours 1 year ago

Jessica B

10+ years of experience

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Expert in: Family Law, Legal, Estate Law, Real Estate Law, Criminal Law, Employment Law, Business Law, Consumer Protection Law, Bankruptcy Law, Traffic Law, Personal Injury Law.

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Jessica B

34878 Satisfied customers

10+ years of experience

Jessica B

10+ years of experience

34878 Satisfied customers

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Jessica B, Expert

Hello. My name is ***** ***** I am a licensed attorney. I hope I may be of assistance with your question. I am assisting several clients so please give me a few minutes to respond to any follow-up questions. Thank you!

I am so sorry you are dealing with this. It sounds like the bank account was in joint name. When an account is in joint name then the surviving owner brings a death certificate to the bank and the funds are released. The bank will not release the funds if only your mother's name was on it.

Customer

What should she do, or could she do in the case of this when she and her brother are the only living family members to inherit the money in the account or accounts in the in the USA? Is the brother required to notify his sister of the assets in the account or will the account be held in probate until all heirs have been notified and gone through the courts? Is he required to file any court probate documents indicating he is the only legal heir to the money? Can she or should she get a lawyer involved to find out what assets were in the bank account that might have only been in her mother's name or possibly in her mother’s and her son's name?

Jessica B, Expert

If the brother was a joint owner on the account then he does not have to account to the sister since he is the sole owner of the account upon his mother's death. The only time the account goes to probate is if the account was only in the mother's name and no beneficiary is named on the account.

Customer

How would she know or be able to find out if her brother's name was on the account or if he was the sole beneficiary on the account if he doesn't want to disclose it to her or provide her with any information at this time on the account? Is there anything she can do to find out if he doesn't want to provide her with any of the details pertaining to this account. If his name is ***** ***** account and he is the sole beneficiary it's fine with her, but he just will not provide any of these details including the amount in the account or statements. There is nothing she can do if that is the case, but he just flat out refuses to provide any details.

Jessica B, Expert

If the account was only in the mother's name then by law the only way to access the money in the account is through a probate estate. She may contact the probate court in the county where the estate would have been administered and she can ask the clerk if an estate was opened with the court. If one was opened with the court she will be able to find out if her brother was appointed the executor of the estate.

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