Problem with Inheritance?!?

[aenedleah10]

My grandfather has recently pass away in China, with no will left behind. He was an American citizen and married his wife in China 4 years ago. Since there was no will, and his banking accounts probably has his wife's name included, do me and my relatives still inherit money from his account? How do I do it or do I need an attorney?

Additional Info:

His bank account is in New York and the account is probably a joint account with his wife though we are not sure.
She is a foreigner, with no legal ID, never been in the USA.

My family lives in Mississippi and my grandfather was a resident in New York.

We know he has bank account is in New York, but there are some problems:
We don't know where his bank account is located in the state.
We don't know his account number, neither does his wife.
Since he passed away in China, we don't have the death certificate translated by law in China, yet. Do we have a deadline to report to Social Security about his death?

[croslea]

My grandfather has recently pass away in China, with no will left behind. He was an American citizen and married his wife in China 4 years ago. Since there was no will, and his banking accounts probably has his wife's name included, do me and my relatives still inherit money from his account? How do I do it or do I need an attorney?

Additional Info:

His bank account is in New York and the account is probably a joint account with his wife though we are not sure.
She is a foreigner, with no legal ID, never been in the USA.

My family lives in Mississippi and my grandfather was a resident in New York.

We know he has bank account is in New York, but there are some problems:
We don't know where his bank account is located in the state.
We don't know his account number, neither does his wife.
Since he passed away in China, we don't have the death certificate translated by law in China, yet. Do we have a deadline to report to Social Security about his death?

I'm sorry for your loss.

The death should have been immediately reported to the embassy or consulate in China. The consulate officer is supposed to then confirm the death, identity and U.S. citizenship of the deceased. They are also supposed to prepare documents for disposition of the remains in accordance with instructions from the next-of-kin or legal representative, and oversee the performance of disposition of the remains and of the effects of the deceased.

Once these formalities have been completed, the “Report of the Death of an American Citizen,” based upon the local death certificate, is prepared by the Consular Section and forwarded to the next of kin or legal representative for use in U.S. courts to settle estate matters. (This document is an administrative report that provides essential facts concerning the death of the U.S. citizen and the custody of the personal estate of the deceased.)

The Chinese death cerificate isn't going to help you. You need the Report of Death of an American Citizen.

Once you have the report of death you should begin contacting the major banks with the report, and his name and date of birth. The bank should be able to tell if they have any accounts belonging to him. If the accounts are jointly owned with his wife, then it is likely that his wife would be entitled to the money.

I would strongly recommend that you consult with a wills and trust attorney who has some experience with cases in which the decedent passed away outside of the USA to figure out who is entitled to inherit what. You are going to need to figure out which state's law will control. It sounds as though it will probably be New York - so you will need an attorney licensed to practice in New York.

[arne33]

His next of kin (his wife) would be legally entitled to his estate. Sounds like you don't care about anything except the possibility of some free money. You are not the ones to handle his estate. That is up to his wife. Getting a lawyer won't do you any good.