My sister died last Friday. My brother had been designated POA for her medical and financial needs. She had more than enough money in her checking account, which he could sign for as POA, to pay for her funeral expenses. BUT, the funeral home director told us that POA ends at the death of the person. Unless the checking account has a co-signature for the POA person, you cannot write any checks to pay for anything. Since we made her funeral arrangements on the day she died, he said they would probably honor the check for her funeral expenses, but if we had come the next day, we would have had to come up with the money. My brother and I had no idea that this happened, we thought he would continue with the POA after her death, until we could settle all her unpaid expenses that occurred during her illness. She was only ill for two and a half months, and it never occurred to us that we needed him to be added to her checking account. Maybe everyone knows this already, I am just thinking we were not the only ones caught off guard. Now we have to figure out how he becomes her executor and can use her money to pay for other leftover expenses. This was in Ohio, other states may not have the same thing. Just trying to give a head's up to others regarding this.
When a person dies, the executor of their will must take over responsibilities.
My parents kept one checking account out of their trust and wisely added me to it several years ago. I was able to write the checks for my dad's bills and funeral expenses out of that account.
Be warned, too, that from this point on, any checks sent to your sister (refunds from cancelled annual payments, for example) have to be made out to "The Estate of" your sister, or the bank won't honor them. I received a check refunding my dad's unused Auto Club payment, and the bank wouldn't take it. The AAA was fine with reissuing the check, but it just took that extra step I didn't really need. Oddly, I received a check for him just a couple of weeks ago, properly made out to his estate, and he died in November 2018. It was the value of unused points from a credit card he had.
End of life is a tough time for so many people, and you not only need to set up your proper paperwork like a will, POAs and an Advance Medical Directive, but ideally we should have someone we fully trust that we can put on our bank accounts before they really NEED to be on those accounts. I never wrote a check or even knew the balance on my parents' account until I took over, but thank goodness for my dad's foresight to put me on as a co-signer. He also put me on his car as a co-owner, which made it very easy for me to sell.
Thanks for your wise advice.
It is unfortunate that there is so little education around the processes and procedures of death.
This is also a good example of why prepaying and planning a funeral is a great idea. When my step dad was dying just over 2 years ago I called the funeral home where he had prepaid. They pulled his file and gave me the after hours number to call.
When he died, it was in the hospital with Mum and I present. I called the number and they were there within the hour to pick him up. He did not go into the hospital morgue. The next day Mum and I met with them, then the minister and had everything organized quickly. We only had to pay for the funeral tea, the music and minister at the church.
If there is minimal assets it doesn't make any sense to file probate or create a Trust. Each state has protocol for dealing with these situations, your states attorney general website is a great resource to find out what you need to do in your state.
I am so sorry for your loss. May God give you strength and wisdom during this difficult time.
One difficulty has been waiting for the death certificate. We were told it would take 4-6 weeks as there was an overload of deaths. I am the executor and need this document to file for her life insurance and other financial instruments.
I think the POA documents should always specify that it ends at death but none of them do.
I went to a Lawyer at once and got my papers of certification of Trust with myself as Trustee. The estate will need an EIN from the IRS. Originally I went through the application snail mail because online was complicated. It took three months for them to return a letter with questions and no EIN. I then let the Lawyer get the EIN and it took her only minutes. Once the EIN is in hand (I recommend the lawyer route-- my total costs at the Lawyer were 500.00.) you can get the accounts changed to "The estate of" and the executor uses this to settle out the will and distribute to the beneficiaries.
My advice honestly is to go to a Trust and Estate attorney. Let him or her know this is to settle and do filings on the estate of a deceased, not to create a Trust, as some don't do the former.
Mom died in October: I had her estate settled by the end of the year. I didn't have to go through probate; I didn't have to involve a lawyer. It was relatively simple.
My husband and I are going to do the same thing.
Did your sister leave a will naming an executor?
If she did not (that is called "dying intestate") you will need to go to court to have someone appointed administrator of her estate.
I am surprised that the lawyer who prepared the Power of Attorney did not explain that it ended at death.