Thanks. All of her finances had us listed as 50/50 beneficiaries and have been paid out to us, including her bank account of 24000. The 1st distribution I picked up from a lawyer as I was in a hurry to get money. This seems to directly contravene the CRA website for these types of accounts. I was under the impression from my mother's lawyer who handed me notarial copies of her will that that document gave me the legal right to proceed and get any bank accounts changed from her name individually to "The Estate of.." There is real estate and rental properties involved, with rent payments coming in and on-going expenses to be paid on a monthly basis. Thanks for your help. The only thing that could be in issue is the validity of the will. My uncle passed away and put my cousin and I as executor's. Yes, you have ALL the rights. I guess my question is do they have the right to not release the money once probate has been granted? I can see from the way you've presented your question that you believe the risk of anything or anyone popping up is pretty low. Hello Lynne, If an executor is aware that the total value of an estate is over $100k, but values are from multiple sources (i.e. The sole real asses, a condo, sold in December of 2018. I just received a govt cheque made out to the estate of my mom care of myself for her OAS payment. It must be a policy of the particular bank.Lynne. You were correct when you suggested an account set up as "Administrator of the estate of Jane Doe". The cheque is not payable to your mom, but to her estate. The problem we now have is that while we can see the account online, we are not able to make any payments from it for utilities and rent prior to moving her stuff out of the apartment. She might have received wrong advice from a lawyer or from a banker. If so, it will pose quite a hardship on her as a student. I don't know of any law that prevents a bank from rejecting any particular ATM deposit. I have set aside more than enough to cover that expense. (I'm in BC). I want to ask my question to the bank but can I get your consent first? Estate settlement services are offered through National Bank subsidiaries. I live in the USA, my son lived in Canada and passed this year. I have set up an estate account. Other terms for estate representative include estate trustee, executor, liquidator and administrator. I am also sole executor of the will. I advised my husband to find another bank, because after I talked to the TD Manager, wanting to understand what they told him, the branch manager talked over me too. She had no idea if I was a TD customer or not. Perhaps the house would fetch more if it were repaired and restored, but the executors will have to balance that off against the cost of repairs, the cost of insurance and property tax during that time, the odds that the market will stay strong, how much of a gain in price there is likely to be, and the patience (or lack of it) on the part of the beneficiaries. Yes, you should should go to the bank to set up an estate account, and no you shouldn't need probate to do that. That is the worst thing he can do.Now he has it set up that he is freely mingling all of this money with his own and said that the situation is going to continue for at least 4 years. Hello, I have a two-part question.I am the executor listed in the will of my deceased mother. The money belongs to the beneficiaries, and they have every right to insist that you disburse it (once taxes and bills are paid, of course). can i process the estate cheque through the joint account? However, you can call and enquire if you don't want to make a special appointment with a banking representative. My mother passed away in mid-March. How long should it take for a bank to open an estate account? I informed the branch manager, who did pay her outstanding accounts directly. Can I relinquish my claim as beneficiary and have Empire Life send the money directly to my 2 brothers, thus avoiding probate? Financial institution (Questrade) refuses to do so and claims this is against the law (True?). Is this an honour system, or does the bank verify estate accounts by looking at the will? Or, if the primary account holder of your joint bank account has recently passed away, we can assist you in determining your entitlement, if any, to the account assets. I am in a similar situation with no will for my deceased father. If the judge is not fully satisfied with it, you may be directed to prove the will more formally.Lynne, Lynne,I hope you can help. It does not include joint accounts in which the other party is still alive. Is it legal for my mother to deposit that cheque into that joint account.? Waste of time.It takes sometimes up to a year or more to probate a Will, but bills need to be paid before that. An alternative might be to purchase bank drafts rather than cheques. In my experience, none of the banks are very good at handling estates. Hi lynne,My mother passed away in late October. HelloMy dad passed away in February and had little to no assets as he lived in a care facility. Safe Deposit Boxes You will need the key to any safe deposit box so you can list the contents and access any important documents it may contain. Her will states two executors joint. The financial obligations of an estate do not "come to" an executor personally. Canadian Western Bank (CWB) is the only full-service bank in Canada with a strategic focus to meet the unique financial needs of businesses and their owners. There was no need to set up an estate bank account, as all three banks released the assets prior to my mother's death. The probate has just been completed.The estate is entirely investments with no actual cash other than a monthly dividend cash flow. Contact the financial institution for more information. The banks have always agreed to this (with only one exception) because the funds aren't going to the executor or anyone else besides the court. Anyone can make a mistake but that's not a mistake; thinking they outrank the court is arrogance.As for not telling you about the problem they were having, yes, they should have told you. You can open an estate bank account after initiating probate and petitioning the court for formal recognition as executor or administrator. It will be the job of the estate's executor to set up and monitor the account. Thank you. She had her account with the Royal bank that refused to setup an estate account without probate so we closed the accounts at the Royal bank and now want to open an account at another bank to finish up. If a CRA refund is the only asset in the estate, talk to the bank and ask if probate is really necessary under the circumstances. Once you are proven to be the executor, the bank has no control over what you do with the money because they bear no liability. She was living with me and we have a joint bank account. Other things might also flow through that estate account, such as the CPP death benefit. You can't just add your name to an existing account, as that would suggest that your sister is alive and you two are joint owners, which obviously cannot be the case.This is the only thing that makes sense to me in the context of your question. I opened up an estate account when my mother's CPP Death Benefit came in. What can I do? My mothers estate is relatively simple and comprised of an investment account with a major financial institution and 2 bank accounts, all of which I am listed as joint (prior to her death I was my mothers POA for property). Your estate includes what you own (assets) and what you owe (liabilities). Try going to the bank where your son had his accounts, since they will have records of him, etc. Not the same thing. You have the right to deal with the account as well as the risk if you screw it up, so they aren't in a position to put up any resistance.Lynne. If it is only bank policy and not law, however, I am going to protest this, as my brother was laid off a while back and could really use his share of the funds now. Or do you actually mean mirror wills? There isn't an estate department in the branches, but there is one in Toronto.If you have Letters of Administration, you now have the right to collect the deceased's assets. Thank you. I just received a cheque refund (a small sum of less $100) issued to her estate. The probate was finished March 9 and that same day I gave the probate papers to the bank. My question is this cheque can ONLY be deposited into the estate account( we still have one set up) and not a personal account correct?Thank you so much. I am executor of the will. So i'm very confused. Have you taken the estate paperwork to the bank with the cheque? It's a fairly small estate, about 80k in RIFF's, chequing account. I went to another bank and they also said no. It must be a policy that TD has established. The last bank draft amount is large of course but way under 100K as in total that's approximately what each would get after taxes and expenses. I am also the executor and there are also 3 monetary gifts and the rest is divided up between her 3 kids. I am in the process of opening an estate account for these commissions to go into and need to know if the funds will be accessible to me for paying bills & mortgage etc. Unfortunately there is no law I can draw on to give you permission to by-pass the legal requirements of estate administration.Lynne. Are they allowed to do this? What is my recourse as an executor? Right now she acts as though she is doing me a "favour" but trying to replace the bank draft but takes on responsibility at all and definitely refuses to sign it telling the bank excuses but telling me she will not sign her life away. Will I need to go to a bank and set up an estate account and can I do this without needing probate? I somehow doubt this, but if yes, what additional documentation would be required?2.What are the ramifications of moving money from her account as it is today to myself for repayment? He was suppose to prove to the courts he had no money, but failed to do so, and a lawyer stated he would inform the courts of this, but I needed to pay him $2,000 first. After someone passes away, their assets and debts will need to be accounted for and managed. I've heard and seen horror stories from every bank and credit union.Note that I'm not talking about the trust company part of the banks. I was told we can't do this unless we have a probabated will. On the other hand, if you stepped down properly, who became the executor in your place? As long as the executors are being reasonable and acting in good faith, they are carrying out their duty.Lynne. If you did not obtain the permission of the court to step down, you are still the executor. I know taxes will need to be paid next year. I could look at them online, print transaction records, and transfer funds in or out if necessary or as required. The process would require you to sign an indemnity form. HI Lynn, My case is very complicated,it started with the land my mum bought 5 acres of land in Fiji and she got her first cousin Vana to handle things to sell the land which mum got many offers even for $450,000.00 but mum trusted her daughter-in-laws family the lawyer she hired and her cousin in Fiji.when our beloved mother passed away notary Sublock Sublock never even got mum to sigh her Will even though we paid $170 fee for that one home visit Mr.Sublock refused to help us and we sent mum's old Will which was Notarized and the Fiji Courts refused to accept it and my dad was next of kin now they said Vana and fiji lawyer Ulamila Tuipuku said that my dad needs to do a Probate and I sent $3,500 for court/lawyer/probate and months down the road Vana and Ulamila said that the court won't accept the Probate that they wanted her in my Dad's WIll which he "WE HAD A DEAD LINE OR LOSE THE LAND " we said that was crazy and we went through with that and so so and we went through Mr. Sablock again because he had the history regarding the land and my mum's information etc.My dad wanted to sell the land because there was squatters on the land and two churches was already built on land without permission and you wonder who was minding the place.When I made an offer to a performance on the land Vana was so upset she was yelling and I said okay you have 6 weeks and she said she already had the money and we'll we waited and waited for the paper work.When I tried from May 2012 til Feb 2013 to get the lawyer to send papers yo sell the land she was making all kinds of excuses and we sent thousands of dollars for court cases and the land .The thing is after my dad passed away the first thing Vana said is remember that I'm the excutor on the Will and no one can go above me and I was do she said none of your kids can go above my head and this just to show she knew what she was doing .We'll after all that she said that the land is in her name and the lawyer who was supposed to be working for my dad was working for her and went against both my parents. 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