St. Charles, MI Estate Planning Law Firms & Lawyers

Tell the agent to pound sand. You are not signing the listing agreement and if he or she does anything to prevent the sale of the property, you will hold him or her and the broker liable for the damages. It might sound better if it came in the form of a letter from an attorney, but that is the gist of it.

If you and your husband resided in Washington State, you would have certain legal rights that may not be present in other states. Washington is a community property state, and all assets earned or acquired during marriage, including retirement plan values, are presumptively community property thus owned equally by both spouses. Because of this, virtually all financial institutions and brokerages know that they must get a signed release from the spouse before distributing or transferring funds from one retirement or investment account into another account. By the wording of your question, I am guessing that you might be living in a state that does not base it's property ownership laws on community property law principles. This information is for general public information and is not to be considered legal advice nor does it establish any confidential attorney/client privilege.

Unless your name is on the checking account you must file a probate action and get appointed personal representative of the estate. Then you will have access to the bank account Pay the death expenses first (burial) and then pay the bills.