You are the executor and you need to get control of this situation. "Is that the case in every province or are their provincial differences? I have made sure his loan and funeral expenses have been paid for and any government cheques have been paid back. They will not liquidate any account of any kind worth $500,000 without either probate or Letters of Administration. Instead I seem to be stuck mingling assets with my own money, which seems like a terrible idea. Everything else of my husbands, all accounts, homes,, RRSP's etc. So i'm very confused. (I'm in BC). There are debts owed (including this financial institution which is a tenant in one of the properties). Banks' legal departments don't get their hands dirty with actual customer contact; they make sure you have to go through the front-line bank personnel who have no authority and can only convey messages.Am I frustrated? My dad passed away and has no will, no assets, no liabilities, no bank account. Srnicek said most brokers predict interest rates will continue to rise in the first quarter of 2023, with the first Bank of Canada announcement on the key interest rate set for Jan. 23. If you are the administrator, who has set up the estate account?Is the account actually an estate account, or is it simply your sister's account that was in place at the time she died? As there was only cash in his estate I did not set up an estate account - the death benefit cheque was deposited to his account. He had power of attorney. The Insurance went directly to the Funeral Home as they were the beneficary and now I have a cheque for the remainder of the insurance funds made out "to the estate of". It should list there what paperwork they need. can i process the estate cheque through the joint account? Once the letter of probate has been granted and presented to the bank where the estate account has been set up, does the bank have any further right to "approve" payments coming out of the estate account. The probate has just been completed.The estate is entirely investments with no actual cash other than a monthly dividend cash flow. I have just received her CPP funeral benefits paid to the estate as we were unaware her will had not been signed correctly until after the funeral. Yes, you should should go to the bank to set up an estate account, and no you shouldn't need probate to do that. Hi Lynne,My mother passed away in Aug 2018. Bank Accounts Notify the bank and identify yourself as the executor. Their concern is allowing money to be paid to someone, then finding out later there were other beneficiaries that should have been included. She has no real assets. I need to set up an estate account for him. They can object to them if they think the expenses are inappropriate.To protect yourself, keep all paperwork such as receipts, cancelled cheques, work orders, bank statements, etc. I have all the receipts and this will be documented in the final accounting but I realize this may not entirely be legal. I was told by my mother's doctor, at the time, that she may have as little as 4 weeks to live (but she lived just over 3 years, so it was a hardship, as it was over $100,000 in total) but in less than 2 weeks the money was gone, before the doctor even talked to me. Since I only have about $500 a month to live on after the bills are paid, I can't afford it. When you stepped down, I assume that you did so with the permission of the court, as that is the only legal way a person acting as executor can step down. Lynne. Because these accounts are assets of the estate, you will have to get probate to distribute them.Lynne. I would suggest opening an estate account. Several expenses were incurred and paid from my own pocket while waiting for the probate to be granted. Hi Lynne, I had POA for my mum, who had dementia. During the estate planning process, the idea of adding a beneficiary, usually an adult child, to an existing bank account as a joint account holder can seem like an attractive, more efficient option than creating a will and then having your executor set up an estate account after you pass. Sorry.my question is actually can I deposit this cheque to my account or cash it? does this have to go through Probate? to the bank and they should open the account with no problem. He had a will.. Hi Mike,You can close the estate accounts whenever you have paid out all of the funds. I was hoping to close it out so there will be final closure to his estate ( there is not much to it ). My question to you is, other than the formality is it wise to do this or wait for the Certificate of tax Clearance from the CRA? In reading their most recent annual report, the office of the ombudsman outlines the complaint process and time for resolution. So out of her account I paid for her last medications so it is a fully paid now. Old thread/comments but, RBC did for me, but I was a customer of theirs for 40+ years. In such a situation, the funds in a joint account would then transfer over to your child, who can then distribute the funds according to your wishes without having to go through probate. Until then I have to ask for a balance and any bills I need to pay out of the account will have to be by bank draft. If they won't let you do it your way (which happens to be the correct way) then take all the funds out and put them in a different bank.Lynne. I am paying their benefits to the court.Thank you for any help and advice. Hello My 24 year old son passed away oct 28 i found his gst cheque dated oct 5 that he signed is it ok to cash it or wat do i do ? However, keep in mind that as an executor, your obligation is to wind up the estate as efficiently and quickly as possible. It's quite possible that they will insist on probate. Other terms for estate representative include estate trustee, executor, liquidator and administrator. We also own property that my mother as executor has never removed my Grandmother from. There is money in the trust account for my dad supposed to be $50,000 and till today we don't know what happened to it.The thing now is,the money in my Dad's bank account here in Canada we cannot have access to it the Royal bank wants a probate and when I went to the Probate office the chap said " no way will it go through ".So what, does the banks in Canada have the rights to our parents money ?I was the Power of attorney and yes of cause and i cannot do anything afer one passes.Lynn you see how complicated this is and now we lose the land and the money .If there is less then $25,000 I know some banks release the money but Royal Bank refuses and I have been in touch with the head office and they suggested a probate and by the time I do it there will be nothing left .Please can you help me ?Thanks, Roberta, Roberta, yes I can help you, but not on a blog post. I asked if i can close the account and open one that says Sara Smith, Administrator of the Estate of Jane Doe and they said no. There was no will.Thank youWendy. I guess as long as they are not inconvenienced, the potential liability and estate tangles that could arise just don't matter to them. At least, that's their point of view. I'm so sorry to hear about your son. That sounds wrong to me. I was told in the beginning the less money in the account the easier it will be to close out I have a felling this isn't so. If you haven't wound up the estate in a year and there is no good reason for it, you could end up in a dispute with the beneficiaries and possibly in court.Lynne. She had no assets other than a savings account. Also because the will has not been probated and I am not willing to go through the paper work and trouble to do so what are my options for closing this account next year. Why on earth doesn't she just do the paperwork before this all hits the fan? Your husband's estate is separate from him. Hello Lynne.I am the executor of my fathers estate. All properties were sold and bills paid and income tax filed. The Momentum PLUS Savings Account is Scotiabank's high-interest savings account and offers a base rate of 1.60%. Death benefits are administered by the federal government. My context for the question was a little different: an estate account with two trustees specified in the will who are to pay bills for someone in a house who is not being given direct access to the money. An "estate" refers to assets you owned at the time of death. Before the probate, I met with the bank stating they would set up an estate account, but it came to my understanding when the probate was finished they did not make an estate account yet. Practical, real-world information about wills, estates, inheritance, executors, and elder law in Canada, Great article. My dad had no will, no spouse and i am his only child. 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. What would be the purpose of such a designation if people could just ignore them?I'm not an accountant, but my understanding is that the RRSP will be fully taxable when it is paid into the estate. The bank is treating my moms registered accounts with no beneficiaries (rrsp/lif/rrif) as frozen until probate is received. By then of course, the 10 days will be long past. The duty of the executors is to maximize the estate as best they can. It depends on the situation. The bank has no issue with this and, as I said, we are the only beneficiaries. The things people will do to their own parents is absolutely appalling. The simple answer is that the people in the branch have no idea how to deal with estates. These 'source documents' are the back up for the estate accounts but are not usually provided to all beneficiaries. The only joint wills I've ever heard of are the kind where there is only one document shared between two people, and those haven't been done for about 50 years in most of Canada. They refuse to transfer the assets in those account over to the estate account until they receive the probated will. Keep in mind though that when you present your accounting to the beneficiaries at the end of the estate, your expenses must show up there. If you want to discuss the case with me, call my office at 79-221-5511 and make an appointment for a telephone conference at your convenience. Are they allowed to do this? Is there anyway around this? Or I could simply present a copy of the Will to the financial institution that I am the executor? When I sold her house after she went into a nursing home, I invested the money in an Empire Life segregated fund contract as her financial advisor suggested. Can the Courts force her to replace the lost bank draft? I fear they are aware we will be transferring all the money to another bank and that is the hold up. How can he sign papers, cheques if he is not physically able to do so? I'd suggest sitting in with your banking officer and having a chat. You are the one with the liability and the responsibility so tell them to back off and let you do your job. Their job is to hand over the account once probate has been granted. Can Laurentienne refuse to transfer the funds from my decesased uncle's account to BMO? Note that the credit union confirmed probate isnt required as the total amount of the estate is around 10,000.Thank you. My three sisters and I are the beneficiaries, however my mother had no assets and lived with us. No probate is required. We were able to open up an estate account at the Bank of Montreal and transfer the funds from her account without going through probate. Are you supposed to be supplying it? Probate is slow because her state pension came from UK along with a small occupational pension. For example, are any beneficiaries pushing for an immediate distribution? Any advice you may be able to offer would be appreciated. RBC has made a royal mess for me to contend with. Should I see if the back will do so as it did previously as it knows me or just go to set up a estate account?Thank you for your feedback. An estate account is a temporary bank account that holds an estate's money. Since I am sole beneficiary and will receive the cheques to his estate, how do I set up the estate bank account. The RSP is not in the estate if it names beneficiaries. Can my mother continue to live in the house or does she have to move? In fact I never actually did this as she was quite capable herself. My mother passed away January 19, 2020. Now the will have been pronated and the bank has all information requested but will not release the money to the estate account because they want to keep it to cover the mortgage (with the same bank). My brother lives two provinces away. I think that's all they've been used for to date. It clearly names me as the Estate Trustee. Thanks so much for your prompt and informative response. Do I have to apply to Alberta Surrogate Court to have the will proven as valid before applying for probate? This is because a grant of probate is an order of the court that indemnifies everyone who follows it. Still to this day I have not heard anything. It's a downfall in our system, but that is the system we have.Let's hope your brother is standing right in the middle of the road when the karma bus comes barreling along.Lynne. Hi Lynne, my deceased father's will dated 2015 names my Mother as a sole beneficiary of his entire estate, however does not list every single account he had. I am an executor of my mother's will. The alberta bank is insisting on probate. This is certainly not the law, but must be an internal policy of the bank. Do I just carry on as executor of the will or should I be administrator? Can we just deposit the cheques in our own account? I have Mom's taxes done for this year. All of her finances had us listed as 50/50 beneficiaries and have been paid out to us, including her bank account of 24000. It must be a policy that TD has established. I believe you are wrong about avoiding probate because of the joint account. In law, you have no right to do so because you've been given the cheque as executor, which means it's in trust for the beneficiaries of the estate. There is another 400,000.00 in GIC's and a house in my father's name. A cheque was released to to each person on title for a project (including my grandmother whom they knew was deceased) . I cant help but think that the financial advisor was incompetent and forgot to file the paperwork as I have been told too many conflicting stories. He had a brother & sister who are now the beneficiaries. An executor can never use estate funds for personal spending. So what I'm saying is that they have no reason to try to supervise what you're doing once you have provided the proof that you're the executor. We two are the only benficaiaries. My 29year old son died suddenly. I don't want to put any money through my personal bank account as I want to be able to keep organized records for when I do the final payout. What can I do? The final distribution (to myself) was confirmed last year by my lawyer, and I have since acquired some of the major assets left to me. is there any legislation preventing them from doing so? If I open an estate account and deposit the funds from both accounts(100,000) dos that account have to be probated? Keep all estate funds separate from your own. I don't have the big picture! The executor will also need to . I seem to have a combined bank estate/tax problem. I was advised around that time by the branch manager that an account estate should be opened by the first week of August.It is now August 8 and there is still no estate account. Now the bank is on the hook for the full funds because they released the funds to the wrong person. Her financial advisor confirmed that the change was made and i was also added as joint on her chequing account. Do I need to set up a trust account to deposit this for her? Thanks. Is it different when somebody has no chequing/savings accounts? One way to handle this is to have a separate bank account opened after the person's death, which is referred to as an estate account. So, my question is -- where do I go from here? How do I go about cashing this in to divide amongst our family?Tammy. If you are the executor, it's up to you to decide whether you want to take the personal risk of releasing money. Estate Planning. My mom had around $800 000 of chequing and investment accounts. The contents of this website must not be interpreted, considered or used as if it were financial, legal, fiscal, or other advice. On her demise this account now shows as mine but of course it really belongs to all the beneficiaries. The strategy is usually accomplished through the writing of a Will and establishing Powers of Attorney and similar documents. What if the deceased's will names you as the "Estate Trustee"?I'm starting to work on settling my mother's estate and one of her financial institutions is asking for a CAET "Certificate of Appointment as Estate Trustee". Royal bank will not allow me to open an Estate bank account, without a probated Will. Isn't it the point? We need to access funds to pay final funeral expenses, property tax, and more importantly estate taxes so we can begin probate.How we do access the funds? My mother is not very well and I have POA. One other question, the estate's co-executor would like to make a cash payment to a former care worker as recognition for her dedication. 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. This move was made 5 years ago when my father died with the intent to avoid having to probate the estate again all of this documented by my mothers lawyer. Not at all a fan of RBC, in fact in the process of switching banks myself. This meant the assets did not go through the Will, nor to my brother, yet all three banks released, the funds to my brother (2 banks, within hours of the day he and his daughter changed the POA to remove me, and just make it the two of them) it was almost a year, before my mother found out the POA had been changed, as she never asked for it to be changed. The new mortgage require the pre-auth form to be from an account with my name as the administrator to my sister's estate. Lynne. Thx. I informed the branch manager, who did pay her outstanding accounts directly. The bank has no say on what or who gets paid. It's now over a year since our relative's DOD and delays are almost all due to the executor's actions or lack thereof. The client is now deceased and her power of attorney signed the cheque although I do not believe it was a joint account as only the deceased name is on the cheque. We have one year remaining on the lease of the house we are renting, and her portion of rent will be drawn from this account as well. Geography means I cannot do it in person. I suspect you may be right that someone has made a mistake and is stringing you a line of BS to try to cover it up. How an estate is distributed Not every will is probated, and the banks are well aware of that, particularly if some of your joint assets were held there. Sometimes not applying to administer the estate is the best strategy.Lynne. 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. If you did not obtain the permission of the court to step down, you are still the executor. Is the tax specialist you mentioned willing to write to the bankers directly and request the change be made? All debts of the estate have been paid. bank accounts (includes foreign banks) Shares, bonds, trust units, options, mutual funds, TFSAs, RRSPs, RRIFs vehicles such as cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, trailers situated in or outside Ontario goods or material As of today's date the bank has yet to release the funds and they keep asking for such things as my identification etc., which was I had given them already. 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. The money belongs in his estate, which has to be used to pay off any debts or taxes he might owe. Instead of avoiding the probate fee, not only does the account still go into the estate, but you may also have to pay for a lawsuit to determine your mother's intention in making the account joint. Don't let them dictate what is appropriate for you to do, when you are the only one who bears responsibility for the funds.Lynne. I doubt you want the estate you're working on to be that case, so you are acting properly. Yes, I would expect that you would have to obtain probate to deal with the account, due to the high dollar value. Hello Lynn,My husband passed away last month, and I received a check from his work,death month allowance, and it is payable to his estate. I need to know the balance, and I can't get it. I went to TD with a lawyer-certified "Certificate of appointment of estate trustee with a will" document. I am not the executor, a relative who is a C.A. If he will not clean it up voluntarily, you might consider asking the court to remove him. 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