Sorting finances after my dad's death | What do I write in the letter to all the banks and firms?

Autumn868

Hopefully you guys on this forum will be able to help me-


My dad passed away in early April (from the virus), and so I am now needing to sortout all his financial accounts - With the end resulting needing to be that all his money is pooled together & paid-out as per his will.


I have looked the the online step-by-step guides, and it says you need to register the death (and get posted a death certificate) before you can have the cremation?
*The cremation was 2-weeks ago, so I believe my sister must of registered the death, and so would of been posted a death certificate I assume?


So am I correct that I now need to contact her, ask her to post me a copy (or the original) of the death certifcate, and I then need to make 30-40 photocopies of that and post them + a cover letter to all the banks/investment firms/and private pension funds/and life-insurance companies which my dad held money with?
*He had 3 filing cabinets filled with all his financial documents, which are catergorised too.


But so what exactly is all the information that I need to write in the cover letter which I post to all the companies?
Do I need to enclose a photocopy of the death certificate along with every letter?
Do I need to enclose any other documents?
And what do I need to instruct the banks and firms to 'do' with his money?
(As he left a will, and stated that 325k is split between his children, rest remains for my mum, and named a family-friend as executor)


Thankyou

Linton

You do need a death certificat to bury or cremate someone.

It would appear that you are not the executor - It is the executor's job to sort out the finances and to distribute the estate in line with the will.  They can ask someone else to help but the responsibility ultimately lies with them.  The executor is the only person who can authorise the collection and distribution of the assets of the estate.

It is probably best for the executor to phone each company to let them know.  They will say what information they require and what options there are for the money.  Each company could be different with different requirements and different processes.

xylophone

named a family-friend as executor)

Then it is up to him to deal with the administration of the estate once he has obtained probate.

Autumn868

Linton said:

You do need a death certificat to bury or cremate someone.

It would appear that you are not the executor - It is the executor's job to sort out the finances and to distribute the estate in line with the will.  They can ask someone else to help but the responsibility ultimately lies with them.  The executor is the only person who can authorise the collection and distribution of the assets of the estate.

It is probably best for the executor to phone each company to let them know.  They will say what information they require and what options there are for the money.  Each company could be different with different requirements and different processes.

Hello and thankyou very much for your reply.

However the executor is simply an old family friend (not legally skilled in any capacity)...
And whilst they are happy to help, my mum wants us to sortout all of the paperwork admin for her, so she simply has to sign it off (rather than dumping all of the admin work onto her).

My dad had approx 30-40 different financial accounts (various bank accounts with multiple banks / shares & bonds held via investment firms & banks / private pensions / and life insurance), so it will be a massive amount of work trying to locate & contact each institution!

Whilst you say each company will have it's own policy & procedures, would it be a good idea if I draft a template letter and send it to each?
*So THEY can then write back to me, and let me know what the next steps are in regards to their procedure?

In regards to the money itself, does the executor need to setup an executor bank account, and then it be requested that all the banks and companies transfer my dad's money into that account??

xylophone

However the executor is simply an old family friend (not legally skilled in any capacity)...

This is irrelevant - either he has accepted the role of executor or he has renounced - there is no halfway house.

It is up to the executor to contact the financial institutions concerned to advise them of your father's death.

As was explained in previous posts, the executor needs to be provided with all relevant information about your father's assets (sole or joint) in order that he may apply for probate.

Without probate, he will be unable to administer the estate.

Therefore you must gather together all the information the executor needs (I would suggest that you  look at the relevant IHT forms) and provide it to him.

He will then be able to apply for the Grant, open an exor account to gather in the cash/proceeds of sale of shares etc and distribute the estate according to the terms of your father's will.

Brynsam

xylophone said:

However the executor is simply an old family friend (not legally skilled in any capacity)...

This is irrelevant - either he has accepted the role of executor or he has renounced - there is no halfway house.

It is up to the executor to contact the financial institutions concerned to advise them of your father's death.

An executor is perfectly entitled to delegate tasks.

OP, you will almost certainly need certified copies of the death certificate (a very few organisations will insist on sight of the original), not just plain photocopies. It's a bit surprising that you've not asked your sister about this, so find out now how many copies she got at the time the death was registered and ask if she used the 'tell us once' service (https://www.gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact-and-tell-us-once). 

Owain_Moneysaver

The executor needs to contact every financial institution etc*, preferably by telephone - many now have specialist bereavement departments. Procedures vary from bank to bank and depend on the amount of funds held. In most cases the banks will require an official 'original' death certificate to be sent to them, which they will copy for their records and return. They will provide details of the balance of funds held or investment valuation at the date of death - these figures are needed for the IHT and Probate forms. 
Some banks will release smaller balances of funds to the executor without probate.
*Remember also to contact all utilities as there will be balances owing/due at date of death. Utility in your father's name must be closed and new accounts opened in the name of the executor. Again, most now have bereavement departments. 
Urgent responsibilities of the executor are to keep any property safe and insured. House and car insurers must be informed immediately. Locks should be changed if people (eg carers) have had access to the house. 
Once the Grant of Probate is obtained, the executor sends copies (again, originals issued by the court) to every bank etc, who will then arrange to remit funds and provide a statement of any transactions since death (investments may rise or fall in value). 

Robin9

You don't actually need 30-40 copies -  if you send the organisation a certified copy then that will be returned to you  quite quickly. You then send that one to the next on your list.
Be very very methodical. Take your time.

Keep_pedalling

If you read the OPs last post on this subject you would think, probably correctly, that the executor would be nuts not to renounce trying to deal with what is going to be a difficult estate to wind up. Not sure if the OP took the advice to encourage the executor to hand over the administration to themselves or not.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6135653/to-process-my-fathers-will-does-my-mum-need-to-post-copies-of-all-financial-documents-to-executor#latest

Linton

The point about being an executor is that companies and other bodies may not (and I think should not) accept the OPs authority to deal with estate matters if she isnt.

badger09

Keep_pedalling said:

If you read the OPs last post on this subject you would think, probably correctly, that the executor would be nuts not to renounce trying to deal with what is going to be a difficult estate to wind up. Not sure if the OP took the advice to encourage the executor to hand over the administration to themselves or not.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6135653/to-process-my-fathers-will-does-my-mum-need-to-post-copies-of-all-financial-documents-to-executor#latest

It would be much easier to answer OPs questions if she kept to the one previous thread. Context is important!

Linton said:

The point about being an executor is that companies and other bodies may not (and I think should not) accept the OPs authority to deal with estate matters if she isnt.

Agreed. Unless Executor has renounced, its unlikely any financial institution will respond to OP in any meaningful way. Bereavement teams are the easiest way to deal with most financial & utility companies, but they'll only provide general information on their processes.