Distribution of Inheritance

bloke91

Hi
I am an executor for my late father's estate along with my two sisters.

Once grant of probate is recieved what is the best approach to collecting and storing the cash from my fathers bank accounts for distribution to the benefices of the will?

Any advice or previous experiences are welcomed.

xylophone

Open an executor account  to collect money due to the estate.

SevenOfNine

I found some banks less than enthusiastic about opening executor accounts (Lloyds), suggesting I just opened one in my name instead (which I did & it worked out fine, but I didn't agree at the time that it was the best suggestion).   

Though just the other day I was dealing with NatWest  & they suggested an exec account, seemingly willing to open one.  Though TBH I've gone for one in my own name again, with my own bank, as it was quicker to open it on-line & NatWest have proved difficult when requesting the deceased's a/c be 'frozen', (I want that DONE to avoid overpayments by DWP), so I don't want to muck about with a bank that can't just get done a simple 'freeze' request after 2 phone calls & a bank visit!

Depending on fund amounts, you might want a cheque book as well if the inheritance division is over the daily limit for bank transfers. I also specified that cashing the cheques would be classed as acceptance of the accounts (which I'd included - residual beneficiaries & nothing to hide anyway), not that it carried any legal weight really!

Savvy_Sue

The NatWest account we opened was a 'normal' account but it just said 'Executors of ...' - Lloyds might be willing to do that? 

Bill568

As co-executor for my mother, I found in practice that most institutions wanted to pay funds immediately they received the Death Certificate, together with appropriate forms as to where to send the money. Certainly it was not necessary to wait for Grant Of Probate, even though in all cases we confirmed that a Grant was to be applied for.

My mother banked with Nat West and upon receiving the Death Certificate via their Bereavement Portal they immediately stopped all transactions, in and out, on her accounts. This was as per their procedures. Nat West then chased me every week seeking confirmation to transfer the final balances.

Nat West confirmed that an Executors account was only available as a Branch based service. I popped in to my local Branch and a very helpful very young man advised that an executors account was only appropriate where transactions would continue to be necessarily made and received in the deceased persons name. Probably only if they ran a company which would continue to trade in their name.

I spoke to my bank, HSBC, about opening an account in my mothers name and basically they said no. They would not provide a 2nd current account and said I could open another "savings" account in my name and use that for my mothers funds. In the end with the agreement of my co-executor I received all moneys in my current account and  keep a spreadsheet up date and share it regularly with my co-executor.

JGB1955

Likewise - Nationwide wouldn't open an executor account but suggested I open up a second current account instead.  That had to be in my sole name because the other executor lives in Singapore and couldn't go through all the ID stuff needed (particularly with Covid-19 in mind).  This obviously needs the trust of the second executor but hasn't created any problems at all.  So far over 600K has passed through the account with minimum hassle.
As an unexpected bonus - the other executor ( and beneficiary) also banks with Nationwide so, no cost at all for transferring £300K+ over in one go.

Savvy_Sue

Bill568 said:

I popped in to my local Branch and a very helpful very young man advised that an executors account was only appropriate where transactions would continue to be necessarily made and received in the deceased persons name. Probably only if they ran a company which would continue to trade in their name.

Well either things have changed in the last few years, or that's absolute tosh ... 

ameliarate

My brother and I simply opened a joint account and used that for everything. 

Bill568

Savvy_Sue said:

Bill568 said:

I popped in to my local Branch and a very helpful very young man advised that an executors account was only appropriate where transactions would continue to be necessarily made and received in the deceased persons name. Probably only if they ran a company which would continue to trade in their name.

Well either things have changed in the last few years, or that's absolute tosh ... 

It's simply what I was told in February 2020.
Having said that I have learned through administrating my mothers Estate over the last few months that there is rather a lot of people that tell you something different every time you ask the same question. I would add that a vast majority go out of their way to help rather than hinder.

badmemory

All 3 banks my mother used said there was no need for an executors account.  Luckily I had been running my mothers affairs for a few years meaning that I knew there were no debts - not even to DWP.  Also the joint executor & beneficiary trusted me (as I would have her) & they all kept tranferring money into my account & I transferred it straight back out again.  A big problem was the banks transfer limits.

badger09

Similar, but not quite the same as, to badmemory above.

I was a joint executor, but not a beneficiary when I executed estate of my late sister 2 years ago. With agreement of co-executor who had reserved powers, I opened a new account in my name, which I designated 'Estate Account', with a bank used by both my late sister and myself. This kept Estate transactions separate from my own. Everything went into that account and all expenses were paid from it. I offered to email statements to co executor every month but he declined so I just gave him copies with my final Estate account once I'd completed distribution. When I was 100% sure nothing else would come in or need to go out, I closed (switched) the account.