My cousin passed away and his wife was from Japan. She moved back to Japan and didn't fill out the right paperwork to earn permanent legal citizenship. She was emotionally devastated and just didn't get the paperwork done in time. So now they won't let her back in the US. Bank of America is telling her they are going to withhold her funds unless she fill out some form called called W-8BEN. This makes no sense to me she has been treated so badly. Can the bank do something like this
If she can get a visa to come back to the US for a short period of time, she should provide a valid US marriage license, your cousin's official death certificate and proof of her identity and Bank of America should get her the paperwork she needs to complete to claim her husband's bank accounts. if these are large accounts, she may have to have taxes withheld otherwise the accounts may be subject to probate.
The W8-BEN is to claim your cousin's wife as a non-resident alien and she will be subject to federal taxes on the interest earned on the accounts (30% or so). |
