Death

I_am_spartacus

Hi Guys,

Just after a bit of knowledge from you.

I am just about to tie up some money in a 1 year fixed term savings account with “Metro Bank”.
Reading the small print, after a 14 day cooling off period I can’t have access to the money for the term period (I understand why), but not to be too morbid if I was to die before the period ends would my will executor be able to gain immediate access to the money?

I did phone “Metro Bank” and the person I spoke to said that a power of attorney would be needed?

Anyone know the definitive correct answer?

Thanking you in advance for any replies.

JohnRo

Surely a power of attorney is for the living...

I think they should have said a grant of probate.

fwor

Agreed - power of attorney ceases at death, and your executor will not be granted immediate access to the money. I know this from personal experience - as soon as a bank is notified of the death of a customer, they will typically freeze the account - usually so that payments in can continue but withdrawals cannot.

Whether they would require Grant of Probate or a simpler method depends on the bank's policy, which usually depends on the amount of money deposited. Different banks have different thresholds below which they will deal with it as a "Small Estate" and not require Probate. I don't know what Metro Bank's policy is offhand.

talexuser

Agreed, probate is what is needed, though if it is just a simple amount e.g. 50K e.g. Lloyds do not need probate.

lindabea

Some banks also ask to see a copy of the will and the death certificate before transferring the funds to an Executor's account

LHW99

If there is no will, then it would be "letters of administration" I believe.

staffie1

Find a better bank.

in_my_wellies

It does depend on the bank. I had to get probate for my late husband to close his Santander current account which had just over £6000 in it. I queried this but couldn't get around it.
NatWest and Nationwide just needed death certificate for larger amounts in ISAs

Uxb1

Whether a bank will release funds to the executor without seeing a formal grant of probate simply depends on their internal policies on this.
They will all need to see an original of the death certificate -" original" being one of those provided by the registrar of deaths and not your own photocopy.
Generally anything over around £30K to £50K will require probate and anything under will not - though the bank will in such cases most probably require a copy of the will and full ID certification of the executor plus the executor has to sign an indemnity form for the bank. This form absolves the bank of any come back/liability if the executor subsequently does not distribute the funds as the will stated they should be.

In general when someone dies any lock in terms or penalty clauses for the early termination of any contract becomes null and void. The executor can gain access to savings monies once the due process is complete without any early withdrawal penalties being applied. Likewise the executor can cancel all polices and maintenance contracts and things like phone contracts with immediate effect and no cancellation penalty (as might be normal when a person cancels a contract) can be applied.

kangoora

in_my_wellies wrote: »

It does depend on the bank. I had to get probate for my late husband to close his Santander current account which had just over £6000 in it. I queried this but couldn't get around it.
NatWest and Nationwide just needed death certificate for larger amounts in ISAs

Sounds like the people you talked to don't know their own bank policy. Santander will release up to £50k without requiring probate.

If the total value of all accounts held with us in the sole name of the deceased is greater than £50,000 you'll need a bereavement instruction form (for postal notifications only) and a grant of representation. These can be found in the important documents section.

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/customer-support/bereavement

Most banks ahve a dedicated bereavement team who actually know the rules, better to contact them - hopefully they weren't the ones who told you this!!!

in_my_wellies

kangoora wrote: »

Sounds like the people you talked to don't know their own bank policy. Santander will release up to £50k without requiring probate.

If the total value of all accounts held with us in the sole name of the deceased is greater than £50,000 you'll need a bereavement instruction form (for postal notifications only) and a grant of representation. These can be found in the important documents section.

https://www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/customer-support/bereavement

Most banks ahve a dedicated bereavement team who actually know the rules, better to contact them - hopefully they weren't the ones who told you this!!!

I read this too but was told I still needed probate. Perhaps it was different 7 years ago. It was the least of my problems 7 years ago. In a completely unrelated matter Santander referred my case to their own complains department and paid me a substantial sum in compensation.