Joint bank accounts and death

johnp392002

Hi! Sorry about the dark title but my wife and I share a joint bank account and we have been told, several times, that the account is frozen on the death of one of us. This is causing us some worry because my wife is due to go into hospital for a very serious operation and, consequently, we are considering all possibilities. Is this true about freezing of the account or not. Should the account be frozen none of the utility bills would be paid and, I presume, pensions and son would not be paid in either.

can someone please clarify this for us.

Thank you,

John

MrJones1

If one of the account holders die, normally the surviving account holder will have the right to manage the account. I have never heard about the account being frozen when one of the account holders die. For clarification, you should either contact your bank or read the terms of the account.

Mojisola

MrJones1 wrote: »

If one of the account holders die, normally the surviving account holder will have the right to manage the account. I have never heard about the account being frozen when one of the account holders die. For clarification, you should either contact your bank or read the terms of the account.

johnp - If one owner dies, the whole account is owned by the survivor. There's no reason to freeze it.

I have heard of joint accounts being frozen when one account holder became unable to manage it - in one case through being in a coma and another through dementia.

As MrJones says, ask for clarification in writing from your bank.

Don80

The only time I can think of this happening would be where there was a dispute about the money in the account (as in a divorce case). I worked for a bank a long time ago and we usually opened a new account in the survivors name and transferred the balance. We did freeze accounts where they were held in a single name. This was because often the executor had to provide instructions which could be followed as long as there was no dispute over the funds. But that was a long time ago!

Armchair23

I can speak from personal experience, it didn't happen when my husband died. Obviously I can't guarantee that it will be the same for you but I'd be really surprised if that was the case. All direct debits carried on as before and in time the account became in my name only.

If you've been 'told several times' was it by your bank or a well meaning friend ?

I did take out a credit card in my own name when my husband was ill, I'd been a second cardholder on my husbands account for donkeys years and that DOES get cancelled on the death of the original applicant.

My very best wishes and sincere hope that your wife will be well and home soon.

xylophone

Check with your bank but under normal circumstances, a joint account comes under the sole control of the survivor when one party dies - the account is not frozen.

The very reason that married couples often choose to have their household DDs taken fro a joint account is to lessen anxiety for the surviving spouse - such bills as water/ power /household insurance etc continue to be paid without interruption.

eskbanker

I agree with the above posts and would add that, even though this shouldn't be a concern, if it is then why not open a sole account (at the same bank) and transfer some funds across just in case?

stclair

The survivor will inherit the account.

Most banks have a bereavement team you could call them for clarity and piece of mind.

stclair

RBS / NatWest say:

If the deceased had a joint account, we’ll transfer it to the name of the other person once we’ve seen the death certificate and completed a review of any joint facilities that may be held. We’ll also talk to you about if you’d like to open an executor account to make and receive payments on behalf of the estate. We may also be able to pay for some funeral bills from the deceased’s account.

http://personal.rbs.co.uk/personal/life-moments/bereavement/bereavement-service.html

Lloyds Bank say:

Can I take money out of a joint account?

If you are one of the named account holders then in most cases you will be able to continue withdrawing money in the normal way; we’ll let you know if you can’t. The account will be changed to the surviving account holders name and in most cases this can be completed at the branch. If it is more complicated it will be completed by our specialist bereavement unit.

https://www.lloydsbank.com/help-guidance/customer-support/bereavement.asp#tab-row-1

I'm pretty sure these policies will be same or similar across the banking industry.

Chalkius

I can add, Barclays rules state that joint accounts will carry on in the joint account holders name. Accounts will only be frozen if it's a sole account.

interest_Ted

The OP may be right in that some banks might freeze a joint account. But it would only be on a temporary basis. Scenario...other account holder dies, surviving account holder telephones bank to tell them. Bank have only the survivors telephone call to work on, but they do need documentary evidence before proceeding to allow the survivor to continue with the account, and as they have had 'someone', as they might see it, 'interfere' with the account, they might see fit to freeze it pending documentation. I think the ruie of thumb here is to not tell the bank until you have the death certificate in hand.

I am not talking from experience, but only thinking of scenarios that might happen. The correct answer is to contact the bank and ask for proper clear explanation.

Ted