Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Arkansas

Both Stepmother and Father died without a will.
My wifes stepmother passed away last Tuesday. After the furneral on Friday, her dad, went home and went to sleep, then died in his sleep. All this happened within 3 days. In addition, there are several children from the stepmothers previous marriage (but none by my wifes dad and stepmother together). At the present time, no will can be found.
My question is: Since my wife is an only child, we are paying for her dads furneral out of our pocket. She also found 3 insurance policies, none with a surviving benefactor. Her dads bank account has enough money to pay for the furneral, but the bank won't release the assets. They (the bank) wants the estate to go into probate. We don't think that it should. Is there anything we can do to get the bank to release the funds to pay for the furneral? Also, what about the insurance policies?

Asked on 2/09/98, 10:16 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Chris Johnson Christopher B. Johnson, Attorney at Law

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Is probate required for bank account and life insurance policies?

I'm not sure in which state (AZ or CA) your wife's father and stepmother lived--this will determine which state's law applies here. If it's California, whether probate is required depends on the size of the estate. If all probate-able property is less than $100,000, there is no probate. Instead, the heirs must wait 40 days, then present affidavits to the bank (and anyone else who has estate property) stating the size of the estate and the heir's relationship to the decedent. The affidavit is a simple form, and should not cost much to have prepared.

If the assets are over $100,000, then probate is required. If the life insurance didn't name beneficiaries, it may be part of the estate--many policies specify they be paid to the estate of the deceased if no beneficiary is named.

Finally, you may want to see an attorney to determine whether the stepmother's children have any claim to the property. This will depend on whether the property was community or separate property.

Answered on 2/10/98, 7:48 pm

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