San Diego mom recovers money from late son’s Varo account – NBC 7 San Diego

A 74-year-old San Diego woman received $1,848 that had been left in her late son’s Varo Bank account after months of trying to access the money.

Inés had turned to NBC 7 Responds for help in April after struggling to complete the process required to claim the funds. After NBC 7 Responds contacted Varo Bank and Inés submitted a missing notarized small estate affidavit, she received a check a few weeks later.

“Thanks to Telemundo for helping me resolve the case involving the money my son had left in the bank. I am very grateful,” Inés said.

Inés’ son, Renme, died of a heart attack in September 2022. She remembered him as someone who was always looking out for her.

“When he got paid, he would take me to restaurants and invite me to eat,” she said. “We were always together.”

Inés said losing her son was devastating and very difficult.

Amid her grief, Inés learned that her son had nearly $1,900 in a Varo Bank account and she asked how she could claim the money.

The bank asked her to provide a number of documents. Inés said she felt overwhelmed by the requirements and initially did not move forward with the process.

In January, Inés received a letter from Varo Bank stating that the inactive account had a balance of $1,848. The letter warned that the funds could be transferred to the state administrator of unclaimed property if Varo did not receive a response by Feb. 27.

Her caregiver, Cecilia, encouraged her to keep trying.

“She had become discouraged. She wanted to give up on everything, but I told her, we have to keep fighting. It’s something that belongs to her as his mother.”

With Cecilia’s help, Inés said she sent the documents Varo Bank had requested, but the matter remained unresolved.

“I thought about calling Telemundo to help me,” she said.

Inés contacted NBC 7 Responds in April, who then asked Varo Bank what was preventing the claim from being completed.

After reviewing Inés’ case, the bank said a notarized small estate affidavit was missing. Inés said she did not know what the document was. NBC 7 Responds explained that it’s a document signed by the heir or representative of a deceased person and certified by a notary.

Inés submitted the missing document and received her check a few weeks later.

Varo Bank told NBC 7 Responds: “Varo Bank is dedicated to high customer service standards as a first all-digital, nationally chartered consumer bank in the U.S. Once all documentation required under regulatory guidelines was submitted and verified, Varo completed its review and successfully resolved the matter by issuing a check directly to the beneficiary. 

Inés’ experience highlights the importance of organizing financial documents and planning for what will happen to bank accounts and other assets after death.

Experts recommend organizing financial documents in advance. A will is important, but it is not necessarily the document that, on its own, allows someone to directly access a bank account.

A lawyer recommended naming beneficiaries when opening an account, or opening a trust.

A trust can help organize assets and establish instructions for how they should be managed after death or if a person loses the capacity to make decisions.

Taking these precautions in advance can help spare loved ones from a long and complicated process later.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.