We had a customer that passed away in April 2003. The daugher, who is the sole survivor, has her attorney-in-fact wanting to claim the mother funds under the California Probate Code 13100. Can the daughters attorney-in-fact file the claim on behalf of the daughter?

A couple of questions come to mind first:

Is the daughter still living?

Is she an existing customer of your bank outside of this account of her deceased mother?

Do you have a POA document on file that outlines what powers are granted to the POA?

Is there an estate that the daughter is an executor of, or is she just filling out a form like an Affidavit of Next of Kin?

The affidavit from Probate section 13100 has a requirement to include a statement that the affiant is the successor to the decedent, or is authorized to act on behalf of the successor.

Seems to me, this would enable the daughter's attorney-in-fact to act on behalf of the daughter. Or, to make things even more simple, the daughter could just flat-out authorize the other person to act on her behalf and claim the assets.

Of course, as my tag-line says, I'm not a lawyer (nor do I play one of TV) , so you may want to check with your corporate counsel.

By the way, the LA Superior Court has a nice publication describing "Transfer of Small Estates Without Probate". Better than any I've seen from courts around here....

Looks like I got my answer. Thank you to all.