How To Access Bank Accounts After Death

When a loved one passes away, managing what happens to their money might not be at the top of your list but it’s an important process that you will eventually need to go through. Although you will be dealing with emotional turmoil and upset, you may find yourself in the position where you will need access to the deceased’s bank account. In this article, how to access bank accounts after death, we take a look at the process and steps involved.

Free Initial Telephone Discussion

For a free initial discussion on how we can help you with the legal aspects of gaining access to bank accounts after the death of an individual, get in touch with us today. We will review your situation and discuss the options open to you in a clear and approachable manner. Early expert legal assistance can help guide you through the whole process and also help you avoid the stress of dealing with these issues on your own. Simply call us on 0345 901 0445 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of the team will get back to you.

What steps to take when someone dies

In addition to dealing with the funeral arrangements, there are a number of steps that need to be taken before you can deal with the deceased’s financial affairs:

1. You should register the death within 5 days. By doing this you will obtain a death certificate. This is an important document that you must keep safe as you will need the original in order to gain access to the deceased’s bank accounts.
2. If the deceased left a will, an executor will have been named. This is the person responsible for handling the estate of the deceased. Once the executor has the original copies of the Will and the death certificate, they can apply for probate. If someone dies without a will, the application process is the same, but you’ll get ‘letters of administration’ rather than a ‘grant of probate’.
3. You will need to estimate any inheritance tax liability and notify HMRC of the same. We can advise on this.
4. Once you have the Will, death certificate, and grant of probate, you are then in a position to notify the banks, utility and insurance companies.

What happens to a joint account when someone dies?

If someone dies and they were an account holder on a joint account the next steps will need careful consideration.

The surviving account holder may assume the money is released to them, or they may ask if the account can remain open in their name. Further, most joint accounts come with rights of survivorship. This means the surviving account holder can take full ownership of the account by presenting the deceased’s Death Certificate to the bank. Joint accounts typically do not contribute to the decedent’s probate estate, which means that the terms of the account supersede the decedent’s will.

Current and Savings Accounts of the deceased

Bank accounts remain open until all the money is retrieved and the account formally closed. However, direct debits and standing orders will be cancelled. It is illegal to withdraw money from an open account of someone who has died (unless you are the other person named on a joint account) before you have informed the bank of the death and been granted probate. This is the case even if you need to access some of the money to pay for the funeral. If you are the executor of the Will, it is down to you to withdraw any money and distribute it to the beneficiaries according to the Will. We will be able to help you with the process.

If someone died without leaving a will, the rules of intestacy apply.

There is, of course, the real possibility you do not know the details of all the deceased’s bank accounts or that some details have been lost. In that case, there are online tools that can help you discover lost accounts.

How we can help

We have a proven track record of helping clients deal with probate matters. We will guide you through all the necessary legal due diligence in a comprehensive and timely manner. We firmly believe that with the right solicitors by your side, the entire process will seem more manageable and far less daunting.

How to Contact our Wills and Probate Solicitors

It is important for you to be well informed about the issues and obstacles you are facing. However, expert legal support is crucial in terms of guiding you through the often emotional process of probate in a sensitive and supportive manner and help ensure you achieve a positive outcome.

To speak to our Wills and Probate solicitors today, simply call us on 0345 901 0445, or allow a member of the team to get back to you by filling in our online enquiry form. We are well known across the country and can assist wherever you are based. We also have offices based in Cheshire and London.

Authored by Ben Posted in News, Private Client Tagged as