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#1966679 - 10/02/14 08:23 PM Death of Executor before Estate Settles
tryin2comply Offline
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 90
Here is the scenario: Wife has a safe deposit box in her name, individual owner with deputies. She dies, husband is executor. Husband never notifies bank of wife's death, rental payments continue to be made. The bank is unaware there has been any change of circumstance. Then, husband dies. Now, bank has been notified of husband's death and obviously of the wife's death. The family is hoping for release of SDB to the deceased husband's executor. The family does not believe a new executor should be appointed to wife's estate because it has already been settled...several years ago. Obviously, with the discovery of this SDB, her estate is NOT settled. How should this be handled?
Last edited by cosborne; 10/02/14 08:23 PM.
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#1966734 - 10/02/14 09:32 PM Re: Death of Executor before Estate Settles tryin2comply
rlcarey Online
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rlcarey
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Galveston, TX
With kid gloves and preferably only under a court order. If they feel it should be released to the husband's executor, have them get such an order from the probate judge.
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#1966769 - 10/03/14 08:26 AM Re: Death of Executor before Estate Settles tryin2comply
Elwood P. Dowd Offline
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Elwood P. Dowd
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Next to Harvey
This is not a safe deposit question, per se. It's much more about how a decedent's estate works.

If it was a forgotten $50 savings account in the wife's name your bank would be taking $50 worth of risk in turning it over to an "heir" instead of waiting for it to escheat. However, you don't know what's in the box, so you cannot quantify the risk you are taking. I would bet dollars to doughnuts that it's empty or contains nothing of value, but that would have no bearing on my decision.

If they want access to the box their personal opinions are entertaining, but not controlling. (Nothing is less relevant than who the personal representative of the surviving spouse's estate might be.) They need to get a court order to reopen the estate and name a personal representative (anyone) for the sole purpose of accessing the box and delivering the contents according to the decedent's will. If they don't, your bank will escheat it to the state in the requisite time frame and they can make their claim against the state - after getting a personal representative appointed.

In essence, what Mr. Carey said.
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#1966776 - 10/03/14 01:02 PM Re: Death of Executor before Estate Settles tryin2comply
John Burnett Offline
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John Burnett
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Cape Cod
If I were a member of the surviving family and didn't know for certain that there's anything of considerable value in the box, I'd sit back and wait for the bank to surrender the contents to the state. At that point it might be possible to know whether it makes any sense to claim the contents.
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#1966899 - 10/03/14 04:16 PM Re: Death of Executor before Estate Settles tryin2comply
tryin2comply Offline
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 90
Thank you gentlemen! We agree....just wanted to make sure we weren't missing anything.

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