My sister was beneficiary of my parents cds- she was suppose to split them equally amongst us. We just found out, she has been signing and cashing my deceased mothers cd checks for the pass 14 yrs, through a friends check cashing place? Is this illegal? Even if she was sole recipient of this one cd? She claims that she had cashed the cds in to paid for funeral expenses- we discovered she is still receiving quarterly or bi monthly check in my mom’s name.
Answers
After the death of an annuity owner, annuities can be left to a beneficiary selected by the owner. ... After an annuitant dies, insurance companies distribute any remaining payments to beneficiaries in a lump sum or stream of payments
But you say she is still getting checks in your mother's name. Something sounds wrong here. Was this a POD account? Or was the account in an outside trust, or maybe just part of a will? Is you sister actually the beneficiary, or did you mean she is the executor? A POD account would simply be closed out to the beneficiary, it would not still exist 14 years later and all through that time be issuing checks in the name of a dead person.
I am suspecting your sister is executor of either the will or a trust the money was in. Regardless, she cannot sign your mother's name, she can only sign her's as executor or some other designation that gives her the power to sign.
Because its 14 years alter, have to think the money was in a trust and still is. For that, you have to read the trust papers to see what it says is to be done with the money.
But more of an issue is that the OP says the sister has been signing and cashing the mother's CD checks. That makes no sense.
Question: Has the bank ever been informed of the mother's death? Is the sister power of attorney for the mother, and since the bank does not know the mother died, the sister is continuing to use the account? That would be a criminal offense.