Don't take legal advice...

More fun!

The insurance company that covers my mobile home sent me a check to cover the costs of the fire related damages (from the neighbors home that burned, my home had some damaged vinyl siding from the heat of the fire), less the deductible and the depreciation since the policy is a cash value policy.  Anyway, the claim was processed pretty quickly, the appraiser came out quickly and checked the situation, and the claims handler did a great job getting the claim check sent out in a timely fashion.

Unfortunately the claim check was one that I was unable to deposit at my bank without hassle.  Sadly my insurance agent's office had screwed up and failed to drop my wife's name from the policy, so when the check came it had her listed on it as well (since she had been a co-owner of my mobile home).  I had definitely contacted the agent's office and they were supposed to have updated that information, but they apparently missed getting it done :(  I had apparently missed informing them (the agent's office) that there was no longer a lein on the home either as I had paid off my loan back at the beginning of the year (mostly to escape the onerous interest rates that are charged for mobile home loans).

The insurance company didn't involve the loan company (former lein holder) with the claims check, so I didn't have to worry about that, but since they had put my wife's name on the check it made depositing or cashing the check interesting.  I was busy last week when the check came so I didn't get to the credit union until the weekend.  When I did get there, I was met with "resistance" to depositing the check because of the fact that it had my wife's name on it.  I was prepared for that possibility, and had taken along the documentation that shows that she's deceased and that I was/am the personal representative for her estate, but it didn't matter as the teller at the credit union wanted to put a hold on the check and generally wasn't comfortable in processing it, despite the claims adjuster's instructions to go ahead and deposit the check rather than wait for a new one.  Running into that resistance, I opted to wait out the weekend and go to the credit union branch at my work site.  The folks there are normally easier to deal with, but not today.

Today that person that dealt with me was obviously "new" to the branch and once faced with the challenge of taking my potential deposit she had to consult with her supervisor, and that's where the possible fun began.  Though the person that dealt with me could see that I had -- at one time -- an estate account for handling the estate's business, she wanted, or between her and her supervisor, wanted me to deposit a check that had been made to the joint marital entity into an estate account.  Uh, yeah, NO!

Here's some free legal advice.  Take it with a grain of salt obviously as it's free and I'm not a lawyer, but be aware that I've run this question past a friend that is an estate attorney, and I've had the fun of processing an estate and learning far more about the process than I would ever want to, so I may know of which I'm writing.  Anyway, here's the deal, read carefully and learn a little if you wish.

If you are married, the marital assets/joint assets are just that.  Joint assets.  They automatically transfer to the surviving spouse if one predeceases the other.  They don't go into the decedent's estate, and can't be touched by claimants who have claims against the estate.

If you are single and you pass on, well, you probably no longer care ;)  But your relatives would care and unfortunately if assets came in made payable to you those funds would have to go into the estate and be processed there.  Your heirs would have to deposit the funds into an estate account, cover the claims (if the estate is solvent) and then if funds are left over distribute the funds to the heirs per any instructions that were left (by a will).

The important thing to learn is that you've gotta put funds that were rightfully going to the decedent -- but only to the decedent and not to the joint marital entity -- into an estate account and process those funds as part of the estate.  On the other hand, you don't mix marital assets or your own person assets (assuming you are a surviving spouse) with the estate's assets.  If you put your own personal funds into the estate it may be seen as belonging to the estate by creditors and other claimants against the estate, so you don't want to screw things up in that area.

The supervisor and customer service person/teller at the credit union that were insisting that I would have to put the funds into an estate account were wrong.  Very wrong.  I may yet take a few minutes to copy my thoughts from this page to send off to their headquarters so they can treat it as a teaching moment.

Granted, the insurance company should have sent the check just to me, and that has been corrected, with a new check being cut that is in just my name.  Still, I shouldn't have had issues depositing the check that I had.  Since I am the legally designated personal representative for my wife's affairs, I am entitled to sign on her behalf if I receive funds that are made out to here.  I am also legally responsible to process any funds properly and can't mix joint assets with assets that must go into her estate.  If her estate received new funds, it's possible I'd have to re-open the estate and pay off creditors that had originally written off her debts (since her own personal assets were far less than her personal debts).  Mixing assets could have had me losing money that is rightfully mine or potentially belongs to my children (if I were to pass on), so doing it right is important to me.

As I said in the thread title, don't take legal advise from your bank/credit union.  Always check with your legal representatives and/or do your own research.  Getting incorrect advice from personnel at your bank won't protect you in the future.