Please forgive the jumbled mess. We're all in over our heads and I've put off asking this for too long.
My brother passed away June 19th. We just got the death certificates this week so today I took my mom to the credit union where he had an account to close it. His account was dormant so we aren't expecting any issues from it. However, he also has (at least) two "pay cards" that I believe he used to file his taxes. His friend is a tax professional and does his taxes every year for him, but this year he received a letter saying he wouldn't get a response from the IRS until November. He also told me (the day he died) that he had been approved for a $500 monthly tax credit for his kids.
We're trying to make sure that any money he had can go to his kids (young school-aged boys) but we don't know how to settle "pay card" balances without his pin or passwords. Also my mom is worried that if we move any money into the account we setup to have money for his sons that we could be charged with fraud, especially if there are any incoming transfers from after his passing.
I don't even know where to begin. I want to talk to his friend the tax professional because she'll likely know what to do about the tax situation at least, but then there's the issue of custody. Two years ago my brother and his sons moved back in with Mom. They did distance learning largely supervised by their Nana. My brother had sole custody since their mother was deemed unfit as she's not mentally well. However, after speaking to my brother's attorney my parents learned that there is no longer any record of the process leading up to my brother having sole custody of his kids. The way I see it, we need to get legal custody of the boys before we can move forward with my brother's tax credits (though probably not with his annual tax refund), and regardless we need to cancel his food stamp benefits (Mom won't even spend his June balance past us buying a few food platters for guests of the memorial service). Then there's the issue of the boys' insurance (my brother has/had them on a state-sponsored insurance program).
We've had overwhelming support from friends and family that we're going to transfer into a new account we opened especially for the boys' expenses. However I also worry that gaining legal custody could prove expensive if their mother challenges us for them (Florida is a state that heavily favors maternal custody regardless of the circumstances).
I'd say less that I have a question and more that I'm looking for any advice relevant to our situation. I handle stress very poorly and working during all this isn't helping. I know some parts of this are more suited to r/Custody but it all boils down to not knowing what we should do first. The current plan was to have the service, cancel his credit union account, open a new account for the money we've collected for the children, then work on accessing, closing, transferring or otherwise settling his other accounts without causing harm to my brother's children.
For a little relevant backstory, my mother doesn't work. She had a heart attack 2 or 3 years ago while recovering from colon surgery and now frequently suffers fatigue. Previously she helped my stepfather at his automotive salvage business dismantling cars. She didn't earn income directly but it helped my stepdad make money. My Aunt suggested after my brother died that my mother should apply for "emergency custody" and get on SSI so she can be considered the boys' primary caretaker and qualify for the child tax credit my brother had been approved for.
And because it's relevant, my brother's cards include a "Brink's Money Prepaid Mastercard" and a "GO2bank" card, but those are still attached to the letters he received them in. I don't believe they have been activated and I don't know if either of them were/are scheduled to receive payments from the IRS or other sources (he was unemployed at his death). I know he donated plasma and probably has a payment card from there too but I haven't got his wallet handy.
I know this post is all over the place and I may have forgotten important details but any help is appreciated. Thanks.
Submitted July 09, 2021 at 08:22AM by msnmck https://ift.tt/2Vr843l
