Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

For purposes of my response, I am presuming that your uncle had a will and that you were named as the executor. You use the term trustee but it doesn't sound as though he had a trust. Is this correct? Whether or not he had a trust, you will need to use an Affidavit or Declaration of Small Estate in order to administer his estate. This procedure is available once 40 days have passed since your uncle's death. You can use the affidavit or declaration procedure to transfer the funds to your mom whether or not you uncle had a will. Sometime a bank will have its own form that it uses, but if not, there are certain allegations that must be contained in this affidavit/declaration. If you need more information about what must be contained in the affidavit or declaration, you can email me at [email protected]. It is something you can either draft yourself or have an attorney draft for you.

Once you have the declaration/affidavit of small estate, you should go to your mother's bank with this document, your uncle's will. You may need your deceased aunt and uncle's (the other beneficiaries) death certificates as well. The bank should then be able to work with you to get the funds to your mother's account.