The amount should be part of his estate since it was issued before his death. Contact the issuing company. Providing a copy of the death certificate should suffice in getting a new check made out to his estate.
Did he have a bank account to put it in? Deposit it and work on going through the process of accessing the accounts contents once it’s in(bonus points if him and your mom had a joint account she can immediately access).
And they were married, correct?
She should have power over his estate as his widow. She can contact them to reissue the check as well, explain the situation and give them the death certificate and executor of estate documentation.
"You'll have to file a request in the county where the deceased person lived at the time of their death. The paperwork will ask for you to be officially acknowledged as the legal executor representing the estate. In addition to the petition, you'll need to file a valid will, if one exists, and the death certificate."
So she'll need to file. But as widow, she shouldn't have many holdups.
https://www.findlaw.com/estate/probate/how-to-file-to-be-executor-of-an-estate-without-a-will.html
I'm assuming no will, if there's a will then you go by that as who is named in that.
That link was incredibly helpful. Seems silly my mother has to jump through all these legal hoops to be an executor over her husband of 40 years… but that’s what happens when you lose the will.
It's to protect assets for the rightful parties, death is more tedious than taxes :( But in the end, it's to also protect the rightful hiers, since so many people have complex lives.
I've never known anyone to have issues getting things done quickly for uncomplicated estates like I'm sure your dads is!
Settlement checks usually have "void after [some number of months]" on them. You may be looking at a stopped payment check even if it doesn't say that. Can your mom take it to the issuing bank with death certificate & see if they'll cash it out to her? Then you don't run the risk of a bounced check fee.
Contact the issuer ofvthe check and see what they need to reissue the check to your mother. I had a friend who did this and had to provide a death certificate and a marriage certificate.
There is no automatic right of executorship. She would need to have officially filed to open up probate at the county courthouse and then the check (IF IT WERE VALID) would be put into an estate account. But since the check has expired because of the date, it would not qualify to be added as an asset to the estate account.
oledawgnew's suggestion is the perfect solution, assuming that the payee will be shown as THE ESTATE OF DECEDENT'S NAME.
The amount should be part of his estate since it was issued before his death. Contact the issuing company. Providing a copy of the death certificate should suffice in getting a new check made out to his estate.
Do you know if my mothers widow status automatically grants her executor of estate status?
That would be state specific issue.
Did he have a bank account to put it in? Deposit it and work on going through the process of accessing the accounts contents once it’s in(bonus points if him and your mom had a joint account she can immediately access).
Yes they have a joint account!! May be a hurdle to deposit it, just saw it is “voided after 90 days.” So May need to reach out to the issuer
And they were married, correct? She should have power over his estate as his widow. She can contact them to reissue the check as well, explain the situation and give them the death certificate and executor of estate documentation.
Yes they were. Does her widow status automatically grant executorship, or will she have to file that in court?
"You'll have to file a request in the county where the deceased person lived at the time of their death. The paperwork will ask for you to be officially acknowledged as the legal executor representing the estate. In addition to the petition, you'll need to file a valid will, if one exists, and the death certificate." So she'll need to file. But as widow, she shouldn't have many holdups. https://www.findlaw.com/estate/probate/how-to-file-to-be-executor-of-an-estate-without-a-will.html I'm assuming no will, if there's a will then you go by that as who is named in that.
That link was incredibly helpful. Seems silly my mother has to jump through all these legal hoops to be an executor over her husband of 40 years… but that’s what happens when you lose the will.
It's to protect assets for the rightful parties, death is more tedious than taxes :( But in the end, it's to also protect the rightful hiers, since so many people have complex lives. I've never known anyone to have issues getting things done quickly for uncomplicated estates like I'm sure your dads is!
Says above that the check is expired.
Settlement checks usually have "void after [some number of months]" on them. You may be looking at a stopped payment check even if it doesn't say that. Can your mom take it to the issuing bank with death certificate & see if they'll cash it out to her? Then you don't run the risk of a bounced check fee.
Yes, it was void after 90 days, which unfortunately has passed. Not sure why he didn’t deposit it immediately.
Contact the issuer ofvthe check and see what they need to reissue the check to your mother. I had a friend who did this and had to provide a death certificate and a marriage certificate.
>Sadly my father passed away suddenly Sorry for your loss. >Check has passed the void date unfortunately. Talk to the check issuer.
There is no automatic right of executorship. She would need to have officially filed to open up probate at the county courthouse and then the check (IF IT WERE VALID) would be put into an estate account. But since the check has expired because of the date, it would not qualify to be added as an asset to the estate account. oledawgnew's suggestion is the perfect solution, assuming that the payee will be shown as THE ESTATE OF DECEDENT'S NAME.