Probate and money from current account question

wouldyoulikeacupoftea

Hello, I've got a little question, but I'll have to give some background for it to make sense:

I (along with another family member) have been appointed executor for a deceased relative. We are intending to applying for probate, so that we can deal with the deceased's property etc, but havent got it yet; first we have to fill in the IHT400 and get that bit sorted.

In the meantime, the deceased's bank have released the balance of the deceased's current account to us; they needed to see the death certificate and the copy of the will that named us as executors. But they did not require to see the grant of probate; as I understand it, its up to the banks to decide whether they need to see this or not, and they decided not.

So we have put the money into a personal representatives/executors account.

So my question is: As the bank released this money to us, are we free to use it in accordance with our duties as personal representatives/executors (e.g. paying deceased's debts, etc). Or are we supposed to wait until we have the grant of probate to do things like that?

My conceptual understanding is: the banks released the money to us on their discretion, and so we can do (appropriate) things with it, and the point of the Grant of Probate is to give us legal access to other assets.

But I thought I'd better check here.

Thanks for any clarity offered!

TonyMMM

Yes you can use it - keep records so that you can produce an executors account once the process is finished - but you should only pay those bills that are absolutely necessary until you have established exactly what assets and debts there are.

Tuesday_Tenor

Disagree with TonyMMM

Normally at this stage the bank should
(1) Allow Execs to set up an account to start receiving monies in.
(2) Pay funeral expenses from this account after they have received the Funeral Directors invoice from you. The bank will pay this directly from the account to the Funeral Director.

You should not actually be given any further access to the account (cheque book etc) UNTIL after probate has been granted. It is only at this stage that the executors have been legally confirmed as the people to administer the estate.

Anyone pressing for debts to be paid has to be informed of the death, that you will be the executors and that you are awaiting grant of probate before you can deal with the matter..

Have you actually been givens the means for withdrawing money from the account? (E.g. cheque book or online banking?). To have that before probate has been granted would seem wrong to me.

wouldyoulikeacupoftea

Thanks for your replies.

Tuesday_Tenor wrote: »

Have you actually been givens the means for withdrawing money from the account? (E.g. cheque book or online banking?). To have that before probate has been granted would seem wrong to me.

Yes, the moneys in the personal reps/executors account and we have cheque books etc.

I've read that banks often do this though, e.g. I found a Citizens Advice page with this: (can't post links because I'm a newish user)

If the amount of money held by the organisation is under a certain amount, they might be prepared to release it to you without you having to apply for probate or letters of administration. This amount may vary from one organisation to another, so you will need to check with each one .... Some banks and building societies will release quite large amounts without the need for probate or letters of administration ...

... but I havent been able to find out what restrictions (if any) apply in this situation when probate is not yet granted.

Tuesday_Tenor wrote: »

Anyone pressing for debts to be paid has to be informed of the death, that you will be the executors and that you are awaiting grant of probate before you can deal with the matter..

Thats a good point, thanks. We're not under any undue pressure, I'm just trying to work out where we stand.

TonyMMM

Banks will/do release funds without probate all the time - where the amount is under a certain limit . The banks will pay this money to whatever account you nominate, or as in this case to an executors account - they will not/cannot put any restrictions on you accessing it.

The bank paying the funeral expenses themselves usually occurs where they are not prepared to release sufficient funds before Probate (because of the amounts involved) - in that case they will pay the funeral bill direct on production of the invoice.

Theoretically until probate is granted you are working "at risk" to some extent, but practicalities need to be addressed - utility bills, property insurance etc. may need to be paid.

If you keep proper records, only pay essentials and act in the interests of the estate , I wouldn't worry about it.

Do not start paying off debts though - there are rules about the order in which they are paid, especially if the estate doesn't have sufficient assets to cover them all.