Executor and account information

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Question:

Assume we have a single owner account with an attorney-in-fact, the owner dies and the executor wants info on the account transactions prior to death that were initiated by the attorney-in-fact. Can the bank release that info?

Answer:

Certainly. Of course the attorney-in-fact has no authority now that the grantor of the power of attorney has died, and he or she doesn’t have any special standing in this situation. The executor now controls the account, and has authority to access records on transactions occurring before the decedent’s death. The executor may very well investigate transactions done by the attorney-in-fact to see if they were appropriate and within the scope of his or her authority.

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