What happens to unclaimed bank money from deceased parent?
My father recently passed, and my brother offered to administer the estate, which amounts to less than 10,000 in the bank. My siblings are not cooperating with sending back their signed papers, and the bank said we have two months, or lose the money.
Thanks for the answers! Well, my father did not leave a will. Things were left rather in a mess. My brother said that the surrogate court (NJ) was controlling things, and had ordered the bank money to be split amongst all of my father’s living children.
Filed under Tips by on May 13th, 2010. Comment. 
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Comments on What happens to unclaimed bank money from deceased parent?
the money will go to the state. the state will put the money into an unclaimed money account. you can then contact the state treasurer where you live and try to get it from them.
all unclamed funds are usualy submitted to the state coffers, after which its a real bear trying to get them back again, if you have a lawyer involved with the estate proceeds and actions get him to speed up the process or get a continuance of the affairs, it will cost the estate for his time,a whole bunch of $$$, so the sooner that your kin send in the papers the better
It is difficult for me to provide you with definite answers because I do not know where you live and I do not have more details. However, it is recommended that a will be probated because a probate is legal proof that a will is valid. In Canada, it is generally considered to be necessary to probate a will if the testator left company stock, real estate to be transferred to beneficiaries or money that has to be released from bank accounts or insurance policies. In Canada, with the exception of the province of Prince Edward Island, it is not strictly necessary to probate a will.
I am not an expert, but according to my source, the status of your brother might be considered as that of an “executor de son tort”. A tort, as you know, is a private or civil wrongdoing. According to the reference material I have with me, almost everybody connected with the estate could sue your brother for having acted in this capacity, including any creditors of the deceased person.
If a will is considered to be invalid and a probate is subsequently denied, the estate will be distributed according to the laws of intestacy, or, in other words, the laws that apply to a person who dies without having made a last will and testament. If nobody claims the money, it will eventually make its way back into the public funds. A will also can be contested on certain grounds.
I think it might not hurt to book a brief consultation with a lawyer on the matter.