Do you need Letters Testamentary to gain access to Bank Accounts or IRAs in Plano, Texas?

If you have a family member who recently passed away, you may have been told by a bank that it needs Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration in order for you to have access to your loved one’s accounts.

To get Letters Testamentary, you will need to file your loved one’s will for Probate. A full Probate is required for Letters Testamentary and will require a Notice to Creditors to be filed in a specialty newspaper and for an inventory to be prepared (and possibly filed, although we can’t tell for sure until we are in that point of the process). Letters Testamentary is basically a statement from the clerk of the court that says an Executor of the estate has been appointed by the court and they have authority to manage the assets in the estate.

On the other hand, if your love one did not have a will, we might need to get Letters of Administration. Letters of Administration are similar to Letters Testamentary, but instead of the person in charge of the estate being called an Executor, they are called an Administrator. It usually takes a whole lot more effort (read money) to get them because of the lack of the will.