Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
My grandmother died 2 months ago, with a will naming myself and my aunt as joint heirs and co-executrices. No one else is mentioned in the will, which is share and share alike. My aunt's husband was named on a bank account with my late grandmother, my aunt was also named DPOA, kept myself from having any contact with her, due to my ability to keep my grandmother's finances well in order (I am an accountant with 2 degrees in Business Administration) and keeping her happy at being loved for herself as well (we took care of her prior to her being put in a nursing care facility). My question is this; is the account specifically named in this communication supposed to be part of her estate?
1 Answer from Attorneys
No. Joint bank accounts go to the other survivors on the account. So if the aunt's husband and your grandmother had a joint bank account then any money in the account would pass to the husband outright.
Power of attorney ends at death and only concerns finances, not personal relationships, generally. Since the power ended I don't know what possible relevance this would have unless you contend that your aunt abused the power of attorney so as to deplete any assets and transfer them to herself or loved ones. In such case, an attorney (probably a probate litigation attorney) would have to review the power of attorney and accounting filed by the aunt to see if there is anything actionable there. If your grandmother only had the bank account, then there is nothing to probate and be divided between yourself and the aunt.
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