Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Indiana
probate
My wife's mother passed recently. She
had an house insurance policy that paid 20,00 toward expenses that totaled 44,700 for enviromental cleanup for blood. The insurance check is made out to the estate of my mother in law. In order to cash this check does my wife have to get appointed executor of the estate? My mother-in-law died intestate.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: probate
Since she died intestate and left no one to serve as executor, your wife will need to petition the court to appoint her as personal representative. T
Re: probate
The only way she will be able to cash the check is to open a bank account in the estate name. To do that, she will need to have an attorney do the paperwork to open the probate estate and have Letters Of Administration issued by the probate judge appointing her as personal representative. Then after obtaining a tax ID number (EIN), with a certifed copy of the Letters Of Administration, she can open the account and deposit the check.