The pitfalls of adding niece to checking account

[gwraigty]

Worst case scenarios. They could see me for the amount I was distributed from my mom's estate making the argument this is a valid bill. While theoretically possible, I think this is extremely, extremely unlikely since the total amount is about $75.

A somewhat more likely possibility is that they try to collect money from my as beneficiary of her estate (see above) and don't sue me (just send a demand) and then ding my credit saying I owed the money...

I think the second possibility is not terribly likely but it is possible (no matter how unfounded).

No, they can't collect from you. Wasn't this the account that you had to fight with the bank over because they incorrectly removed the POD designation? I think I posted this before, but I'll repeat it. It's a common misconception that beneficiaries - that is, those who inherit funds via TOD/POD, not via probate - are legally responsible for all debts incurred by the estate. Utility bills, credit card debt, etc. need only be paid from property that had to go through probate. Funds from a bank account inherited via TOD/POD belong to the named beneficiary. No accounting need be given to the courts. Claim forms are filled out and returned with a death certificate. That's it. End of story. Creditors lose, beneficiaries win. IANAL, but I've BTDT.

 

[Katsmeow]

No, they can't collect from you. Wasn't this the account that you had to fight with the bank over because they incorrectly removed the POD designation? I think I posted this before, but I'll repeat it. It's a common misconception that beneficiaries - that is, those who inherit funds via TOD/POD, not via probate - are legally responsible for all debts incurred by the estate. Utility bills, credit card debt, etc. need only be paid from property that had to go through probate. Funds from a bank account inherited via TOD/POD belong to the named beneficiary. No accounting need be given to the courts. Claim forms are filled out and returned with a death certificate. That's it. End of story. Creditors lose, beneficiaries win. IANAL, but I've BTDT.

IAAL. And actually when I said beneficiary in the prior post, I really meant to say as executor (in this case I am both beneficiary and executor and I used the term beneficiary when I meant as executor). (Edited prior post to clarify).

I am not a probate specialist so now one should rely on my opinion as to probate or estate matters. But, in my state in some cases a person with a valid unsecured claim can sue the independent executor on claims.

To sum up. I do not claim that I as beneficiary of my mom's bank account am legally responsible for her debts, if any. I have never, ever asserted that.

My mother does have other assets which will be passed through probate and will be distributed by me as executor. If an unsecured creditor has a valid claim against the estate and it is not paid, under certain circumstances that creditor can sue me as executor.

I do not think that AT&T will bring such a lawsuit given the small amount in controversy. I could see AT&T wrongly attempting to ding my credit though even thought that is probably also unlikely.

 

[gwraigty]

IAAL. And actually when I said beneficiary in the prior post, I really meant to say as executor (in this case I am both beneficiary and executor and I used the term beneficiary when I meant as executor). (Edited prior post to clarify).

I am not a probate specialist so now one should rely on my opinion as to probate or estate matters. But, in my state in some cases a person with a valid unsecured claim can sue the independent executor on claims.

To sum up. I do not claim that I as beneficiary of my mom's bank account am legally responsible for her debts, if any. I have never, ever asserted that.

My mother does have other assets which will be passed through probate and will be distributed by me as executor. If an unsecured creditor has a valid claim against the estate and it is not paid, under certain circumstances that creditor can sue me as executor.

I do not think that AT&T will bring such a lawsuit given the small amount in controversy. I could see AT&T wrongly attempting to ding my credit though even thought that is probably also unlikely.

Sorry if I worded that wrong. I should have said that as a beneficiary of your mom's bank account, you're not obligated to use those funds to pay this debt. The funds were legally your property even before you were able to access them. They were not a part of your mom's estate which, yes, is subject to valid creditor claims. That point was made quite clear to me by 2 attorneys upon the deaths of both of my parents, several years apart. So, I've BTDT twice.

This doesn't appear to be a valid claim. Don't lose any sleep over it. They can't ding your credit because it's not your bill. At any rate, creditors can't make claims against an estate any old time they want to. There are strict time frames involved for obvious reasons.

Speaking only for myself here, I'm not going to address this situation in this thread anymore, so as not to add to the hijack, as it's quite a bit different than the OP's situation.

 

[bclover]

Aaah money and deceased,let me count the ways.
1) lol so at the repast of my husbands funeral his cousin approaches me (yep, right after the funeral) and ask if he could speak with me. Told me that M, my hubby had promised to lend him $250K for his new business and wanted to know if I was going to honor his promise. told him to speak with my cousin (an attorney) who is notoriously cheap and conservative investor. told him if he could convince her it was a good deal, I'd fund his business. haven't heard a peep from him.

2) My aunt in law gave my husband some Japanese rice paper paintings evidently from WWII that he was going to frame for her, after he passed my mother in law said that they were left to both her and her sister by their dad and she wanted 1/2 of them. Of course the aunt said that she had them for the last 50 years and she gave them to M and wanted them back.
I told them both that anything in this house belonged to me.

I plan on spending every thing so no need to fight, won't be anything left. lol

 

[Sunset]

Hopefully your wife checked with a lawyer and charged the maximum executor's fee allowable in her state.

+1
Exactly what I what thinking.