Consumer complaint received 2019-09-24
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
State: CT
Product: Checking or savings account
Sub-product: Checking account
Issue: Managing an account
Sub-issue: Deposits and withdrawals

Complaint:
This complaint involves the Bank of America Legal Departments failure to comply with a Connecticut Probate Court order to release  funds in a previously frozen checking account. As the duly appointed Conservator of the estate and person of my mother, MH, and acting within my fiduciary responsibility, I presented a ( State of Connecticut ( XXXX Regional Probate Court ) District XXXX, Decree to the Bank of America branch in XXXX, CT, on Tuesday, XX/XX/XXXX. 
The Decree clearly stated : WHEREFORE IT IS ORDERED AND DECREED THAT : The Court hereby grants the Conservator of Estate full access to Bank of America Checking Account ending in -- -- -, which was previously frozen by the Court prior to the disposition of the conservator matter. The conservator shall use the funds for care for the conserved person. The Decree is dated at XXXX, Connecticut, this XX/XX/2019. On XX/XX/XXXX, I requested that a bank check be made in my mothers name so that I could withdraw the money from Bank of America in order to deposit it into my mothers Conservator account, which is set up at another local bank. 
The Bank of America branch manager presented Decree to their banks legal department and, after waiting two and a half hours, I was told that the Legal Department would not accept the document presented to them because the title of the document was a Decree and not an Order. I was instructed to come back with a document that was specifically titled a Court OrdeXXXX. The XXXX Probate Court then revised the title of the document so that it read as follows : STATE OF CONNECTICUT XXXX REGIONAL PROBATE COURT DISTRICT XXXX, ORDER. This new document was presented to the Bank of America XXXX branch on Thursday, XX/XX/XXXX and, after waiting another hour, I was told that the legal department was swamped and they would not be able to review it that day. I was told that I would receive a call from Bank of America the next day after the XXXXegal department had an opportunity to review it. Early Friday morning, XX/XX/XXXX, I received a phone call from the local Bank of America and was told that the bank could not release the funds because another legal department would have to review the revised document. I was told that perhaps the following week they would make a decision. On XX/XX/XXXX, I was told that I needed to provide BOA with the original documents from the Probate Court that appointed me the Conservator and provide the Fiduciary Certificate. Those documents were provided to the bank on XX/XX/XXXX. After several more phones calls to Bank of America from me and my attorney inquiring about the status, they are still refusing to honor the Connecticut Probate Court order to unfreeze the account and release the funds. 
I seek the help of the Consumer Finance Department to compel Bank of America to honor the Probate Courts order and release the funds in my mothers account immediately.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with non-monetary relief