How Do I Open a Bank Account for My Deceased Mother's Checks?

Full question:

Mother died with no will no property. Need to open succession I think, I x need to be appointed executrix and open a bank account in her name ie., estate of y, for any monies that may come in after the fact as gifts or a late insurance policy we don't know about. She owes no bills except medical mostly small ones and has no property. Can you help

• Category: Wills and Estates
• Subcategory: Small Estates
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Mississippi

Answer:

When a person dies, their assets are distributed in the probate process. If a person dies with a valid will, an executor is named to handle the distribution of the estate. If the person dies without a valid will, the court appoints an administrator to distribute the decedent's assets according to the state's laws of intestacy. In cases where the decedent didn't own property valued at more than a certain amount, which varies by state ($50,000 in Mississippi), the estate may go through a small estate administration process, rather than the formal probate process. To dispose of the real property interests of the decedent, the executor or administrator executes an executor's deed or fiduciary deed. For example, if a person who is a joint tenant dies, the executor of the estate can execute a fiduciary deed transferring their interest to the remaining joint tenants, or other person entitled to receive the interest under the will.

Under Mississippi statute, where as estate is valued at less than $50,000, an interested party may, thirty (30) days after the death of the decedent, issue a small estate affidavit, sometimes called an heirship affidavit, to collect any debts owed to the decedent. After the fling of said affidavit, the person who filed it has authority negotiate, transfer ownership and exercise all other incidents of ownership with respect to the personal property and instruments of the decedent. Therefore, if the mother's estate is not worth more than $50,000, an heirship affidavit may be filed and used to collect the proceeds from checks in her name. The affidavit is filed by her successor; “successor” means the decedent’s spouse; or, if there is no surviving spouse of the decedent, then the adult with whom any minor children of the decedent are residing; or, if there is no surviving spouse or minor children of the decedent, then any adult child of the decedent; or, if there is no surviving spouse or children of the decedent, then either parent of the decedent. If the mother's estate is valued at more than $50,000, a petition to probate the estate should be filed in court in the county where she resided at her death.