It depends on state law , and the will . I ' m not a lawyer , but I ' ve been dealing with this lately due to my father ' s passing , so I can give a general breakdown , with Oregon ' s laws as an example . If the account is held jointly with another person , it becomes the sole property of that other person . Otherwise , the bank account is to handled by the person administrating the estate . The bank will generally require documentation from the local county stating that the administrator is , indeed , the administrator . The administrator might be appointed by the will , or might need to apply for appointment via a form . The bank account becomes one of the assets of the estate . The administrator is required to account for all assets of the estate i . e . , what money and valuable property the deceased held and all claims upon the estate i . e . , what people say the deceased owed them money . Once the process for paying out all the claims has been handled which can take several months , any remaining money in the account would be distributed to the heirs either as spelled out in the will , or if there is no will in the manner that the law proscribes generally the spouse if any if not , then children , if any if not , then other relatives .