Old Halifax Liquid Gold openend by my Grandmother

adturley

My Grandmother opened a passbook savings account for me in 1992, one of those ones that has her name on it until I turn 18.

Well I moved to the United States with my mom in 1997, and never really gave it a second thought. The last information I have on the account was a statement from 2002 that says the account had about 487 GBP in it.

Any ideas how I can go about accessing the money now that I am over 18? My Grandmother is still living but is in an assisted living facility with Dementia - which makes asking her to do anything a little difficult, and with my being in the US I am doubly stumped.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Onawingandaprayer

Was it formally set up with the Halifax to be turned over to you when you turn 18? If so, I suggest you contact them with all the details.

opinions4u

The account may have been opened in the format "Granmother in re adturley".

If that's the case, the money is legally still hers. It's up to her to sign the money over to you. If she dies, the money becomes part of her estate and does not automatically pass to you.

It's possible that the account is opened in the format "Grandmother tee adturley" which means that the money is legally yours to benefit from, but is in a trust account over which she has control. So again, she needs to sign the funds over to you. If she dies, the money doesn't become part of her estate. The executors are required to appoint a new trustee. Most likely they would just close the account and send you the proceeds.

Either way, Halifax should not simply hand the money over to you. Indeed, I'd be surprised if they even confirm it exists.

Unless somebody has POA or a Court of Protection Order she will have to sign whatever's needed to release the funds to you.

Onawingandaprayer wrote: »

Was it formally set up with the Halifax to be turned over to you when you turn 18? If so, I suggest you contact them with all the details.

It won't be set up with that specific age requirement.

sabretoothtigger

I have some shares setup under two names like that I think, I just get the divs

adturley

Thanks all for the quick responses. The account is written as "grandmother name" Tee for "My Name". This means it is a trust for me, and will not become part of her estate?

Thanks so much,

alanq

One problem overlooked up to now is the problem of accessing funds from any account that has been dormant for so many years even if it wasn't in trust and even if you were not overseas.

mancitychick

adturley wrote: »

Thanks all for the quick responses. The account is written as "grandmother name" Tee for "My Name". This means it is a trust for me, and will not become part of her estate?

Thanks so much,

My Nana did the same for me, same bank, same account & written the same. As it is "tee" it was legally my money and would not go to my Nana's estate but as others have said, Halifax will only allow your Nana to access the money. Fortunately for me my Nana was able to authorise a transfer into my own Halifax account.

The only other thing worth looking into is whether anybody holds power of attorney for your Nana given she has dementia. If they do, they this person should be able access the money for you.

Reaper

adturley wrote: »

The last information I have on the account was a statement from 2002 that says the account had about 487 GBP in it.

Don't expect any growth on that in the last decade as the interest rate dropped from its original market leading rate to 0.1% a long time ago.

opinions4u

Reaper wrote: »

Don't expect any growth on that in the last decade as the interest rate dropped from its original market leading rate to 0.1% a long time ago.

Halifax did have a "preferential rate" for under 21s.

While not life changing, there will be a little bit of uplift from that figure.

Not much since 2009 though!

alanq

Reaper wrote: »

Don't expect any growth on that in the last decade as the interest rate dropped from its original market leading rate to 0.1% a long time ago.

0.05% Gross since 1st October 2009
http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/interest-rates/personal-rates/#Hx_Liquid_Gold

atush

I would call/write to halifax (at least to tell them you exist and your current address) explin the situation re her dementia and call her care home and find out who has POA over her affairs.

given this is your grandma, do you ever go visit? Who in the family is still in the UK and does? They can assist you in finding out about POA if the care home doesn't know.