Expat death

Gettingtherequickly

Hi

Hope you can point me in correct direction. My employer's mum died this morning in South Africa where she had retired. Luckily, he is there at the moment so is in a position to deal with all of the immediate bureaucracy, but has phoned me as he is due to return to UK at weekend and needs be able to deal with finances, eg stopping pension etc.

I know there is a sticky on what to do, but it doesn't appear to cover expat deaths. Can anyone advise on where to start. She had willed her body to science, so there are no issues on funeral. She is married, but her husband is frail and in poor health also, he is also not employer's father, so does he have to deal with everything? I think the executors are in UK, but priority at the moment is to stop receipt of any funds in timely manner.

Your advice will be appreciated.

Keep_pedalling

The first thing he needs to do is obtain copies of her death certificate, then contact her banks to freeze her accounts, then the DWP and any private pension provider.

It sounds like she does not have a South African will, which may complicate things for her executors. As a resident of SA she will be subject to SA inheritance and tax laws (SA IHT kicks in at 3.5M R which is approximately £160k)

eddyinfreehold

I would start with the basics. Was she a British Citizen or had joint citizenship?

There is some good advice here....

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-if-someone-dies-abroad/

If I was your employer, my first port of call would be to contact the British Embassy for basic advice. The link is here...

https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-high-commission-pretoria

...there is also a Consulate in Cape Town who will be equally able to advise.

I would suggest to your employer that he gathers up all her important paperwork into a file including passport, Driving Licence, Medical records and numbers that relate to her identity in both UK and SA and has them to hand when calling the Embassy.

Gettingtherequickly

Thanks, luckily she has an SA will, so making life a little easier. Thanks for IHT info, forgot about that bit, although I assume as she and her husband had mirror wills, it will not be an issue until his death.

Gettingtherequickly

eddyinfreehold wrote: »

I would start with the basics. Was she a British Citizen or had joint citizenship?

There is some good advice here....

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-if-someone-dies-abroad/

If I was your employer, my first port of call would be to contact the British Embassy for basic advice. The link is here...

https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/british-high-commission-pretoria

...there is also a Consulate in Cape Town who will be equally able to advise.

I would suggest to your employer that he gathers up all her important paperwork into a file including passport, Driving Licence, Medical records and numbers that relate to her identity in both UK and SA and has them to hand when calling the Embassy.

Thanks, she was a British citizen, will have a look at the links you have sent, much appreciated.

Jenniefour

He needs to inform the executors immediately, this is their job. For most things to do with money a copy of the death certificate is needed. He can seek assistance from the British Embassy, they will know how to sort things out in South Africa and will have someone who deals with the death of UK citizens.

tyllwyd

If she had a valid will, and your employer is not one of the executors, does he have any authority to deal with her finances? I would have thought (just going by my husband's experience when his mum passed away) that it is for the executors to notify the DWP, close bank accounts etc. It might be a bit of a minefield dealing with things when there is an international aspect, so I would say that the executors need to contact a solicitor to deal with probate, and the solicitor will take over the financial side of things. Certainly the solicitor my husband used closed all the bank accounts etc as part of the process. I wouldn't think he needs to panic about stopping her pension instantly as long as he gets on with it as soon as he can - there might be an overpayment, but surely it can be repaid when the estate is sorted out.


While he is in South Africa, it would probably be a good idea to visit a lawyer with his stepfather, to make sure that all the paperwork is sorted out there so that he doesn't have to rush back again later. Maybe the stepfather can give him a power of attorney (or something similar) so that he can deal with matters on his stepfather's behalf.

Gettingtherequickly

tyllwyd wrote: »

If she had a valid will, and your employer is not one of the executors, does he have any authority to deal with her finances? I would have thought (just going by my husband's experience when his mum passed away) that it is for the executors to notify the DWP, close bank accounts etc. It might be a bit of a minefield dealing with things when there is an international aspect, so I would say that the executors need to contact a solicitor to deal with probate, and the solicitor will take over the financial side of things. Certainly the solicitor my husband used closed all the bank accounts etc as part of the process. I wouldn't think he needs to panic about stopping her pension instantly as long as he gets on with it as soon as he can - there might be an overpayment, but surely it can be repaid when the estate is sorted out.


While he is in South Africa, it would probably be a good idea to visit a lawyer with his stepfather, to make sure that all the paperwork is sorted out there so that he doesn't have to rush back again later. Maybe the stepfather can give him a power of attorney (or something similar) so that he can deal with matters on his stepfather's behalf.

Thanks for all of this, it is strange how executors are chosen, for some reason she chose his brother, who is younger and also lives in UK. However, he seems to be getting on with things, had arranged to meet her lawyer to sort out Power of Attorney today, so that has obviously changed to dealing with the practicalities of the estate.

Stepfather has family, so they are sorting out his side of things in as much as they can from here, so he is doing what he can while there, but it sounds as if things will be a bit more complex as mental capacity is a bit erratic. Thankfully, the wills are a few years old, so no doubts there.

eddyinfreehold

I guess the good point is that the South African, like a lot of the New Zealand and Australian legal system is a close model of the Law in England and Wales, which it makes it a bit easier than some of the more obscure continental European Laws like Portugal or Greece etc where a lot of ex-pats reside.

McKneff

What do you mean 'sort out Power of Attorney' . Power of attorney cannot be started after death anf if power of attorney was already in place before death, it ceases immediately on death ???

eddyinfreehold

McKneff wrote: »

What do you mean 'sort out Power of Attorney' . Power of attorney cannot be started after death anf if power of attorney was already in place before death, it ceases immediately on death ???

The OP implies there is a surviving elderly spouse, hence the possible need for Power of Attorney. Obviously not for the deceased, you are quite correct on that point.