Bank Accounts On Death

Marcus947

Hello All,

I have been trying to research but drawing a blank on my position. I wonder if anyone out there has had similar.

Funds were transferred out of a joint account (mum + dad) for a now known wedding fund. Unfortunately they were transferred by my dad from the joint into the only other account they had - a sole account in his name.

My father also has a small loan outstanding.

The money in this sole account came from the joint but dad transferred it by himself because he dealt with finances (old school mentality). He has since passed away.
However, RBS are saying he was allowed to do that because the joint account says so (?) and will not allow us to have the wedding fund and want to treat that as payment for the loan!!!

Does anyone have any advice before I have to break it to the partner that we did have a fund but that fund has now been taken away


Thanks in advance

grumbler

Marcus947 wrote: »

However, RBS are saying he was allowed to do that because the joint account says so (?)

Why the question mark?
Yes, typically joint accounts don't require two authorisations for a transaction.

and will not allow us to have the wedding fund and want to treat that as payment for the loan!!!

They have a right to do this.

xylophone

The joint account will have been either to sign and on death, the money in the account would have become the property of the survivor.

Your father was entitled to transfer money in the joint account to his sole account - your mother would have had the same right.

Once the money was in your father's sole name it became his alone and would have passed in accordance with his will or under the rules of intestacy had there been no will.

If your father had an outstanding loan on death, the the bank will require repayment from his estate which includes the money in the sole account.

System

Why did you keep your wedding fund in your parents' bank account?

Biggles

Marcus947 wrote: »

Does anyone have any advice before I have to break it to the partner that we did have a fund but that fund has now been taken away

The fact is that you never did have a fund.

What you had was a promise of a gift (presumably verbal, but in practice I doubt anything in writing would have helped anyway). Your father had cash he intended to use for that gift but, as he died before he gave it to you, it (or some of it) will go towards his debt.

You refer to the fund as though it were significant, yet to the debt as 'small' - will there be nothing left?

Dird

!!!!!! I thought debts got wiped on death here :f

EarthBoy

Dird wrote: »

!!!!!! I thought debts got wiped on death here :f

You thought wrong. Debts only get wiped, i.e. written off, if there's no estate, i.e. no money or property which can be sold to cover the debts.

stclair

Dird wrote: »

!!!!!! I thought debts got wiped on death here :f

If the accounts are in joint names it will remain the responsibly of the survivor to maintain.