Answer:
In general, no.
Authorized signers are agents of the owner, not owners themselves. Agency appointments such as powers of attorney, deputyships on safe deposit box leases, and authorized signer appointments all terminate on the death of the person who appointed the agent.
This may help: An agent never can have more authority to do anything than the principal him- or herself has. Once the principal dies, the agent can do no more than the deceased, which isn't a whole heck of a lot.
Another way of looking at it is to think of authority flowing from the principal. The principal turned on the flow when creating the agency. When the principal died, the flow stopped.
First published on BankersOnline.com 11/3/03
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