When someone dies, his assets normally fall under the control of the state court system, called probate. The courts assign a trustee, administrator or executor to oversee everything in the deceased’s estate and pay off all creditors. Any amounts remaining after creditors get paid can go to heirs. In some cases, probate can take months or years. Life insurance, annuities and retirement accounts with named beneficiaries can bypass the probate process and go directly to the beneficiary, however. If you are the beneficiary of one of these types of assets, you can cash or deposit a check made out to you from those funds with no problems, though the bank may put a hold on larger transactions before they make the money available to you.

For assets that go through probate, you will probably need to become the court-appointed administrator or executor for the account, unless the deceased already appointed one in his will. To do so, you petition your probate court in writing, stating your case why you should be appointed. If you are the closest living relative, you have an excellent chance of being appointed. This will allow you to control the deceased’s money, including granting you the authority to write, deposit and cash checks.

As the executor or administrator of an estate, you have a fiduciary duty to the estate, the estate’s creditors and the other potential heirs. This means you have the utmost responsibility to serve the interests of heirs and creditors before your own. You cannot abuse this authority by paying yourself out of the deceased’s funds. Any expenditures you make must be in the interests of the estate and its creditors and heirs.

Some states give banks discretion over releasing funds up to a certain amount to surviving relatives, particularly spouses, though state laws vary. Ask your bank what the law allows it to release once you have proved that the account owner has passed away and that you are indeed a surviving relative. However, if the deceased named a payable-on-death beneficiary, or POD on the account, that beneficiary has priority over you. However, if you are the POD beneficiary, you can claim the funds immediately upon proving the original owner’s death.