Nationwide - Grant of Representation

Caro_81

Hello,

Recently my father passed away and I have been helping my mother to wrap up his affairs. It's been fairly straight forward as all he left was the house which was in both their names and a couple of bank accounts. One of these accounts is with Nationwide and after checking their website and doing some research I discovered that because of the amount we would need to apply for a grant of representation specifically a letters of administration as he did not leave a will.

Yesterday we paid a visit to Nationwide in order to inform them of dads death and we were told that in order to have the money transferred to my mother we would need to see a solicitor and apply for probate. When I asked if they would accept a grant of representation instead we were told no and that if we had any questions we should talk to a solicitor. I was confused by this advice so I called up the Nationwide bereavement team this morning to ask why they would not accept a grant of representation and the advisor I talked to did not know what a grant of representation was. After some confusion she did say that they would accept a grant of probate but when I explained we could not apply for this as there is no will but that we could apply for a letters of administration which would give us the same rights once again she did not know what I was talking about.

I would appreciate any advice/opinions on this. Am I the one who has confused things (quite possible)? What should my next step be?

Thanks

Mojisola

Caro_81 wrote: »

we would need to apply for a grant of representation specifically a letters of administration as he did not leave a will.

Yesterday we paid a visit to Nationwide in order to inform them of dads death and we were told that in order to have the money transferred to my mother we would need to see a solicitor and apply for probate.

When I asked if they would accept a grant of representation instead we were told no and that if we had any questions we should talk to a solicitor.

I was confused by this advice so I called up the Nationwide bereavement team this morning to ask why they would not accept a grant of representation and the advisor I talked to did not know what a grant of representation was.

After some confusion she did say that they would accept a grant of probate but when I explained we could not apply for this as there is no will but that we could apply for a letters of administration which would give us the same rights once again she did not know what I was talking about.

Some in-depth retraining is needed at Nationwide, especially for the bereavement team!

You are right -
https://www.gov.uk/wills-probate-inheritance/overview
"A grant of representation can sometimes be known as a ‘grant of probate’, ‘letters of administration’ or ‘letters of administration with a will’."

You also don't need a solicitor if you feel able to go through the process yourself.

Yorkshireman99

Caro_81 wrote: »

Hello,

Recently my father passed away and I have been helping my mother to wrap up his affairs. It's been fairly straight forward as all he left was the house which was in both their names and a couple of bank accounts. One of these accounts is with Nationwide and after checking their website and doing some research I discovered that because of the amount we would need to apply for a grant of representation specifically a letters of administration as he did not leave a will.

Yesterday we paid a visit to Nationwide in order to inform them of dads death and we were told that in order to have the money transferred to my mother we would need to see a solicitor and apply for probate. When I asked if they would accept a grant of representation instead we were told no and that if we had any questions we should talk to a solicitor. I was confused by this advice so I called up the Nationwide bereavement team this morning to ask why they would not accept a grant of representation and the advisor I talked to did not know what a grant of representation was. After some confusion she did say that they would accept a grant of probate but when I explained we could not apply for this as there is no will but that we could apply for a letters of administration which would give us the same rights once again she did not know what I was talking about.

I would appreciate any advice/opinions on this. Am I the one who has confused things (quite possible)? What should my next step be?

Thanks

Nationwide are talking complete rubbish. I suggest your mother makes a formal complaint under their complaints procedure. In the meantime she needs to apply for letters of administartion. This does not need a solicitor and with your help I am sure she can do it. Pleanty of help here if you need it.

Caro_81

Thank you for the replies. They were very helpful to me.

We have just come back from another visit to Nationwide and were told that they would accept a grant of representation from us.

If anybody ever finds themselves in a situation like ours I would advise that if what you are being told makes no sense to ask questions until the matter is sorted. Unfortunately I let the the whole thing fester for the last few days and so I was unnecessarily abrupt and upset with the Nationwide advisor. So instead of feeling better about sorting things out I feel embarrassed and sad.

I have just made a complaint though as I do feel Nationwide need to give better training to their employees on how to advise people in our situation.

Thanks

Tuesday_Tenor

You may be using the terminology a little confusingly.

The term 'grant of representation' is the wider, overall term covering ALL the different ways that a person can be 'granted' the right to deal with an estate , i.e. It covers both the situation where there is a will (grant of probate) and where there isn't a will (letters of administration).

From the gov.uk website:
'A grant of representation can sometimes be known as a ‘grant of probate’, ‘letters of administration’ or ‘letters of administration with a will’.'

Having said that, there are occasions where the website itself suggests the 'grant of representation' is exactly the same as 'grant of probate', when it's actually a wider term ... and so adds to the confusion a bit ....

Caro_81

Thank you for the reply.

Yes, I think you are right. The problem is I have been calling it a 'grant of representation' while the Nationwide staff are calling it a 'grant of probate'. Although technically we can't get a grant of probate as there was no will at the end of the day it amounts to the same thing.

However, Nationwide themselves refer to it as a 'grant of representation' on their website and literature so I have been doing the same. Do you think I was unreasonable in expecting the Nationwide staff to understand what I meant?

I will admit I have made things more complicated than was necessary.

troubleinparadise

No, Caro_81, you haven't complicated things, Nationwide haven't helped out very much, especially given that they should be experts in financial matters, and that when dealing with the bereaved they should be explaining the process to you, not you to them.

Sadly this is an infrequent situation with financial institutions, just at the time when you are least able to cope, and are dealing with completely unknown procedures and learning on the hoof...

Hopefully you feel a little more confident now, and can tackle the paperwork - it isn't as complicated as the forms initially look, and you will cope fine. Best wishes

Caro_81

Thank you for that. I was feeling a bit crap but you have cheered me up.