Topic: Death of a Customer
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We received a small estate affidavit that is signed by only one of two co-executors of the will. Is it valid?
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Illinois law also does not require that the individual signing a small estate affidavit (the “affiant”) be an executor of the deceased individual’s will, and once the bank makes payments and distributes property as the affiant instructed in the small estate affidavit, it is as if the bank had paid the executors (or other representatives)…
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We received a small estate affidavit that is neither notarized nor witnessed by two people. Is it valid?
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Under Illinois law, small estate affidavits do not need to be notarized or witnessed. See 755 ILCS 5/25-1(b).
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If a joint account owner dies, can we provide information about the account to the executor of the estate?
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The bank should be able to provide appropriate account information to the executor for the deceased joint accountholder’s estate, but it must be careful not to violate the privacy rights of the current account owner. The executor should have access to information about the account up until the date of death but would not have…
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Can we open an estate account using the social security number (SSN) of the deceased individual?
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We believe that the bank needs to obtain an EIN for every estate (even if it will be handled via small estate affidavit). The IRS has stated that “[p]ayers of interest and dividends report amounts on Forms 1099 using the identification number of the person to whom the account is payable. After a decedent’s death,…
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How should we title an IRA account when the owner is deceased and the beneficiary now owns the account? The beneficiary is not a spouse.
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You should always first review your bank’s policies and procedures to determine how to title an account. If you do not have a procedure, then you may wish to title a non-spouse beneficiary IRA account as Jane Doe, Beneficiary Joe Smith IRA with Jane Doe’s social security number.
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On a CD held in a Totten Trust with three beneficiaries, if one of the beneficiaries dies and then the accountholder passes, does the money get divided between the two living beneficiaries or to the two living beneficiaries and the estate of the deceased beneficiary?
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Under the Illinois Trust and Payable on Death Accounts Act, upon the death of the last surviving trustee, the person designated as the beneficiary who is then living is sole holder of the account, unless more than one beneficiary is named and then living. If more than one beneficiary is named and then living, then the beneficiaries hold the…