Legal Question in Elder Law in New York

wills

My father passed away in 2003 without a will. His house was in joint tenancy with my mom who is still living. ( age 80) He also had a joint bank account with her. His estate never went to probate. I am now trying to untangle my mom's affairs and I see she has several stock accounts, some joint, but some in just my fathers name. If she recieves a dividend check, she has been signing my father's name with her initials. Is this a criminal act? Can you give me some guidance as to how to go from here?


Asked on 2/27/08, 3:24 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Richard Bryan Richard Bryan Attorney PC

Re: wills

For the joint accounts, you should be able to present a certified copy of the death certificate to the bank or financial institution, and they will remove dad's name. Often, they'll ask mom to sign a Letter of Instruction (which needs to be Signature Guaranteed, (sometimes called Medallion Guaranteed)), which is done (usually) by a bank officer. Much like a notary.

For the property held in dad's name alone, you have to decided whether the property is valuable enough to make it worthwhile to go through the Administration process (just like Probate). Check though whether the account had a "payable on death" or "beneficiary" designation.

Good luck.

Rick Bryan

New York, NY

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Answered on 2/28/08, 9:21 am
Pasquale Calcagno Calcagno & Associates, PLLC

Re: wills

Call me, Pasquale Calcagno, Esq., at 1(800)WE-FIGHT for a free consultation.

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Answered on 2/27/08, 5:51 pm


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