Changing Joint Account To Single

joolsay

I want to change my joint account with my wife to my name only. My bank (HSBC) has said that I will need a completely new account with a new account no. etc. Does anyone know if this is correct? I know that when my Dad died, my Mum was able to keep the joint account going and even used cheques that were in joint names?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

davey4444

It might just be HSBC's policy because that type of thing is definitely possible. Smile name it as a joint to sole mandate - http://www.smile.co.uk/images/pdf/joint_to_sole.pdf

Wyndham

It probably depends why you want to do it. When your Dad died he wasn't able to give authority to release the account to your mother only, but the death certificate did that (sorry, brutal way of phrasing what may be a sensitive issue for you, but I can't think how else to put it).

If you want to remove someone else, I would expect that they would need to at least sign some sort of release notice and would be expected to do so. I assume you have their permission for this? If so, then it is odd. But a new account might work out better anyway in case the other person takes all the money out before the change goes through or something daft like that. Again, I don't know your circumstances, so apologies if I'm getting personal, I don't mean to.

jonesMUFCforever

Is the joint account in credit or overdrawn?
Is there a dispute between the parties?
I cannot speak for HSBC as I work for another bank but in most cases we would get an authority signed by both parties to take one person off an account (and get cheque book and cards back) and then that account would be re-titled in the other party's name, a/c number etc would stay the same.
If there is an overdrawn balance then HSBC 's actions would be correct unless the party staying on the account agreed to take over the overdraft (if their credit score warrants this).

Compound_2

The T&C for joint accounts is that when one account holder dies the survivor inherits the account. That explains what happened when your dad died, and clearly it isn’t applicable here. Cheque books should have been printed in your mother’s name only after notification of the death to the bank, but the joint cheques printed before the death are still valid for use.

Factors to consider regarding winding up joint accounts:
- Is the account ‘both to sign’ or ‘either to sign’? If the former, it will be impossible even to close the account without the other’s signature. However, the latter is by far the more common model.
- Historically, who was the original account holder? (If the account previously belonged to one person only, with a joint holder being added later.)
- Who is the first named holder? (More applicable to building society accounts where only the first named holder is a voting member.)