Consumer complaint received 2026-02-11 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — CD (Certificate of Deposit)
Issue: Managing an account — Funds not handled or disbursed as instructed
Company: WELLS FARGO & COMPANY

Complaint narrative:
In XXXX my grandmother passed away and left {$15000.00} in a CD with Wells Fargo for my daughter, then XXXX years old. In XXXX, I submitted the forms provided by Wells Fargo to Wells Fargo to transfer the funds to my account so my wife and I could then invest them on our daughter 's behalf. 

I then received a denial letter from Wells Fargo stating that for the funds transfer to occur, I need to submit Conservatorship/guardianship documents over the minor. I then called Wells Fargo and asked for a copy of these forms that need to be submitted. They said that they could not provide the forms, that the forms are required by law ( without stating what law ) and that they need to be issued by a court. 

I live in XXXX XXXX in XXXX, and contacted the courts here, and they said they do not provide documents confirming that parents are in the guardians. I called Wells Fargo back to let them know the court system here did not have the process they were seeking, and the person I talked to commented that it was a challenging situation, but was not able to provide me with any information on how to resolve the issue. It all became too hard so I gave up at the time. 
On XX/XX/XXXX, Wells Fargo sent a letter saying that follow-up was needed at my end to close the account by XX/XX/XXXX, or that the funds would be transferred to the unclaimed property division of Florida. Again, I confirmed with the courts here that they do not provide guardianship confirmation for parents and provided several alternative documents to Wells Fargo that I could provide to show that my daughter was also my dependent. 

Wells Fargo then had their XXXX  department look into the matter, who responded " Florida Statute 744.301 allows parents to collect without court appointment only up to {$15000.00}, and 710.108 ( 3 ) allows and 710.108 ( 3 ) of the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act ( UTMA ) allows transfers only up to {$15000.00} when no custodian was named. Per this input from their legal team, Wells Fargo should have been able to transfer the {$15000.00} to me on behalf of my daughter back in XXXX per the forms I submitted at that time. 

However, the {$15000.00} has since earned a small amount of interest, and the total amount in the account is now {$16000.00}. In turn, Wells Fargo response was 'since the POD beneficiary is a minor and the amount is now {$16000.00}, we cant pay a parent directly. ' However, I am not seeking {$16000.00}, I am just seeking the {$15000.00} my grandmother left for my daughter. I have follow-up with Wells Fargo to alert them of their error in not transferring the {$15000.00} to me as the parent back in XXXX, and that per the forms I submitted in XXXX informing Wells Fargo where to transfer the {$15000.00}, they should have all the required documentation to transfer the {$15000.00} as originally requested. I then received an email back from Wells Fargo 's complaint department saying that my concern has been transferred to them, but they 'dont have authorization to release information to me at this time '' and that they " need specific documentation to show that I am authorized to speak on behalf of the estate and to allow me to receive the information I have requested '' without then saying what specific documentation is in fact needed. 

Their denial letter in XXXX also referenced a W-9 needing to be submitted. As noted above, I provided all the forms that Wells Fargo had initially provided. However, I have recently sent Wells Fargo a completed W-9 form to make sure they in fact have all the forms they need. 

All I am trying to do is have the {$15000.00} left by my grandmother for my daughter transferred to my account so we can invest it on her behalf, which per Wells Fargo 's own legal department is a transaction that they can legally process.

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 explanation