It’s a situation that happens more often than you might think. A loved one passes away, and the family assumes their bank accounts will automatically transfer to the surviving spouse or children. After all, that’s what Mom or Dad always said: “Everything will go to you when I’m gone.”

But when they arrive at the local First Citizens Bank in Garner or a PNC branch in Raleigh, they’re told something unexpected: the account is frozen. The funds can’t be accessed until the estate goes through probate. Bills are due, funeral costs are mounting, and emotions are high. The family thought everything was “taken care of,” but one missing detail, the lack of a Payable-on-Death (POD) designation, changes everything.