Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Pennsylvania
no joint account and account holder died
my father died, and had a savings and cd with no joint/beneficiary party. there is also no will.
I am in charge of all other affairs {sell of house etc} and was named as beneficiary on other matters.
what does one do to collect the money from the accounts with no joint account holder?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: no joint account and account holder died
If you father died without a Will, PA law dictates how the money will be distributed. If you are in charge of selling the house you must have court authority from the Register of Wills. If so then the matter is quite simple--take a short certicate to the bank along with a death certificate and transfer the money into the estate checking account.
If you don't have authority from the Register of Wills you need to start probate on your father's estate and get authority because you should not be distributing things from the estate without this authority--the court has to give you authorization.