Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in New York

Re: decedent's bank account

Only the legal representative of the decedent can get the information and withdraw the money. This would be the Executor if there is a Will or the Administrator if there is no Will.

These are legal proceedings and it may be helpful if counsel is retained.

Re: decedent's bank account

Dear sir or madam:

The executor or administrator of the estate should be able to get this information from the bank. If there was a Japan estate, but not a US estate, you may need a NY ancillary probate or administration, appointing a NY executor or administrator.

You may contact my office directly at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Anthony S. Park

Re: decedent's bank account

Not knowing the probate laws of Japan, and whether they have probate proceedings similar to those in the US, I state the following: If there was a Will probated in Japan and the widow was appointed executrix there, ancillary probate proceedings can be brought in the US, in the Surrogate's Court in the county of last residence in the US. Alternatively, application needs to be brought there, by the widow, to be appointed as the administrator of her husband's estate in that county. Some form of appointment is necessary due to several matters: there needs to be an estate representative here to deal with US assets. Depending upon the state of residence as well as the size of the account, possible federal estate taxes and/or state inheritance taxes may be due on the US assets, even though the account was owned by a foreign national, whether or not he was a citizen or a registered alien (green card). The amount of taxes, at the federal level, are dependent upon his alien status here, and both of the federal and state taxes are dependent upon assets located in the state and in the US. Logically, the widow could contact Citibank, advise them of the death (probably have to provide them with a death certificate) and indicate her willingness to abide by all federal and state laws. They might be willing to at least give account information so the necessary proceedings can be initiated. In this regard, I suggest retaining a domestic US attorney, like myself, to assist in making the inquiry, ascertaining the location of the account and its details. If interest was being earned on the account, plus income from employment here, some federal and/or state income tax returns were required to be filed. A good starting point is to examine the US income tax returns as see what information may be available in these returns. There may be be more than one asset here. For this purpose, the widow will also have to be able to provide a US social security number. This might also help in locating the Citibank account, which could be checked by social security number. Please contact me directly if you have further questions or information.