Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

That would be up to the bank.

Mike.

If your brother closed the bank account and took the money for his own use, the administrator of your mother's estate should bring a lawsuit against your brother for the benefit of the estate.

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Facts necessary for a complete answer are missing. In whose name(s) was the account - mom's or joint with someone? How many days elapsed between death and closing of account? Is your brother keeping the funds or sharing them with the heirs? Was there a Will and what did it say, if anything about this account? How, if in any way, were the funds used? In general, a POA ends with the death of the grantor, but unless the bank knew of mom's death, they would still recognize it and allow it to be used to close the account. If the account was in Mom's name alone, your brother may have acted properly in preventing the account from being frozen. If he used the money to pay mom's bills he may have also acted properly. If he closed the account just to keep the money, he breached his fiduciary duty under the POA and can be sued to give bac k the money. If the account was in joint names with him, he may have been entitled to the proceeds. As stated previously, more facts are needed. This is a response to an Internet question and the reply is not intended to be legal advice or as creating an attorney-client relationship.