$50,000 check

9 Apr 2024 · 1 min

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1:01

In this YouTube excerpt, Jerry Taylor answers a viewer’s question about a father who allegedly left two $50,000 personal checks hidden in his home for his children. Taylor explains that attempting to cash those checks after the father’s death is fraught with legal and practical obstacles. He outlines how funeral homes must notify government agencies (IRS, Social Security, Medicare), which in turn alert banks. Once the death is on record, banks typically freeze accounts and refuse to honor personal checks unless a designated beneficiary exists. Even if the checks are located quickly, the timing gap between the death and the bank visit often means the checks will be rejected. Taylor warns that the whole approach is a “terrible idea” and suggests that relying on hidden checks is unreliable, emphasizing the importance of proper estate planning and beneficiary designations instead of secret cash‑in‑hand assets.

Chapters

My dad told me that he left my sister and I each a $50,000 check for when he's gone, and he's hidden it in his home. Is this a good idea? No, it's not a good idea. In fact, it's a terrible idea. First off, I'm hoping he told you where these checks were in the house. Assuming that he did, one of the biggest problems you're going to have could be the bank. Now, maybe if you run down there on the date of his death or the day after and cash those checks, things would be okay, but people don't usually do that kind of thing when someone dies in the family. More likely that it will be a week or two before you get those checks and head to the bank. In the meantime, the funeral home will have told various government agencies about the fact that your father died. They are legally obligated to do that. So word is going to make its way around to IRS, Social Security, Medicare, and to the bank. Once that happens, it's very unlikely the bank is going to cash any more checks. In fact, they'll probably freeze the account unless there's a beneficiary on the account. But since he's left behind written checks, I'm assuming he has no beneficiary on his bank account. Another obvious problem that could exist is the Daisy.