I was given property damage check from home owner insurance and it’s wrote to the estate of my father,

Question

I have filed Small estate affidavit and am personal rep. in lane county,Oregon , and I can’t get banks to deposit the check for me. I know that court will not provide letter of appointment or Administration or executorship or Authority or Domiciliary or an order Probating will and Appointing Executor due to laws of Small estate so now how do I get the funds for check deposited!? I supplied an EIN for the estate throughout IRS and that wasn’t excepted either by banks legal department. I’m not sure where to turn to now to get this done as you can see it’s been quite frustrating. But my fathers account was closed after he passed away by my aunt that signed out of being his executor so ZzI had to pick up the pieces and school myself quickly with grieving st the same time and have done fairly well so far until this! As I said Dads property all included is within the guidelines of a Small estate so its been filed in court as do last Dec.18. Also could you tell me if I must file taxes for him

Joanne Reisman · Answer

You should have requested a court certified copy of the small estate affidavit that you filed.  Get at least two court certified copies.  This serves the same purpose as a letter of administration.  You take this with you and show it to whoever you are dealing with. 
 
Read ORS 114.545 subsection 1(c) which says:  
 
 (1) The affiant: 
      (c) May open one or more deposit accounts in a financial institution as defined in ORS 706.008 with funds of the decedent, upon which the affiant may withdraw funds by means of checks, drafts or negotiable orders of withdrawal or otherwise for the payment of claims and expenses described in paragraph (d) of this subsection. 
 
Here is the link to all the statutes for small estates: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors114.html 
 
So what you need to do is open a bank account with the authority you have as the affiant.   You can use the check as your opening deposit.  I would not be surprised if the average person working has a bank tellor has no idea how to do this so you may have to go to more than one bank and work your way up to a senior branch or district manager.  Bring a printout of the law I gave you above with you - the entire statute not just the short piece I pasted.  Bring a court certified copy of the small state affidavit.  If you are still having trouble you are welcome to call a local probate Attorney who will probably charge you a small fee to go to the bank with you and get this moving.  Also local probate Attorneys, such as myself, typically keep lists of bankers we know are easier to work with and we call them first when we need something that the average bank teller doesn't know how to handle.

Theressa Hollis · Answer

I'm very sorry for your loss.  I agree with Ms. Reisman's response.  I recommend you try opening the account at a Credit Union - sometimes they can be easier to deal with.  Also, I recommend you consider getting legal advice from a local attorney.  That attorney can help you determine if any tax returns are required to be filed for your father or his estate.

Q: I was given property damage check from home owner insurance and it’s wrote to the estate of my father,