Handling Trust and Non-Trust Accounts When The Accountholder Dies

by Mary Beth Guard, BOL Guru

Question: I have (had) a customer who recently passed away. The children of my customer and his now deceased wife had a trust drawn up titled:

The Doe Family Special Needs Trust dated February 1, 1998. The children are co-trustees. An account was established in the name of the trust. In 2001, Mr. Doe opened an account >
John Doe by Joe Doe and Suzie Doe Smith DPOA

I am under the impression that the John Doe account is outside of the trust and will need to be handled through the estate. Am I all wet?

Answer: You appear quite dry to me. The account established in the name of the trust will be considered owned by the trust. But the other account -- the one >
What did the person establishing the account mean by the acronym "DPOA"? Durable Power of Attorney? Did the bank receive a copy? Were Joe Doe and Suzie Doe Smith joint attorneys-in-fact?

Assuming John Doe had executed a durable power of attorney and an account was opened in his name >
The original version appeared in the May 2002 edition of the Oklahoma Bankers Association Compliance Informer.

First published on BankersOnline.com 10/28/02