Consumer complaint received 2022-04-06
Product: Checking or savings account — Other banking product or service
Issue: Closing an account — Can't close your account
Company: BANK OF AMERICA, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION (NJ)

My wife, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, died on XX/XX/2022. There were rent security ( savings ) accounts set up for each of the two tenants, at Bank of America. On XX/XX/XXXX I went into the Bank of America branch on XXXX XXXX in XXXX, New Jersey to close one of the accounts and get the money from the account ( since the tenant moved out without paying all the rent ) and either close the other account and reopen another one in my name instead of my deceased wife 's name, or change the existing account into my name instead of hers. I brought into the bank both a copy of my wife 's death certificate and a copy of the executor certificate issued by the XXXX XXXX ( NJ ) Surrogate Court confirming that I was the executor of my wife 's estate and had the authority, in all manners, to act in connection with her estate and her affairs. ( I am also her sole beneficiary and offered to provide a copy of the Letters Testamentary with the Will Annexed from the surrogate 's office confirming that I am the sole beneficiary of her estate, but that was not requested. ) I also signed all the paperwork the bank requested I sign, including the form of affidavit from the State of New Jersey confirming that I was the deceased 's husband so that no NJ Inheritance Tax was due. However, instead of closing the first account and giving me the funds and changing the second account into my name, the bank branch employee said he couldn't do that and had to send everything to Bank of America 's Estate Unit and that they would close the account and send me the funds. More than a week later, I received a letter from Bank of America, asking me for the same things I gave them at the bank branch. I called the Estate Unit at Bank of America and after waiting on line and numerous phone calls and voice mail messages, I finally spoke to XXXX XXXX in the Estate Unit. After first telling me that she will e-mail the bank branch as to what was needed to do what I needed done, ( which was probably just the Letters Testamentary with the Will attached ), she then said she had to clear it with her supervisor first. She then called me back and told me that she turned over my matter to the legal department and that I would get a call from them in 24 to 48 hours. I did not get a call from the legal department so I called XXXX XXXX back several times leaving voice mail messages. She finally called me back and told me that " upper management '' says that I need to get a judge 's order to do what I needed to do, even when I reminded her that the executor certificate which authorizes to do everything was issued by the XXXX XXXX Surrogate 's Court and that, as a matter of New Jersey law, ( which I know, since I am also an XXXX who handles estate matters ), no such " judge 's order '' is required, or is likely to be issued, even if I actually brought a court proceeding, since it is not an order that could or should be issued since it wasn't necessary. Since refusing to close the accounts when all the proper paperwork was submitted, which it was, is a violation of New Jersey law, I asked her to put Bank of America 's requirement for a " judge 's order in writing and that I intended to file a complaint with the CFPB and other agencies if the accounts weren't closed, money paid and otherwise as requested. I have not received anything in writing from Bank of America with this illegal requirement, so I am filing this complaint. It has now been a full 3 weeks since I brought everything in to the branch and everything should have been completed. The amounts presently in the two accounts are {XXXX} and {XXXX}.