Getting a £££ gift from relative - why does my solicitor need 3 months of their bank statements?

gcpbuyer

A relative is giving me some money towards my deposit  for a purchase.  

The bank/lender gave us a form to fill out - stating that my relative has no stake in the property, doesn't want the gifted money paid back, and asked them to sign it. That's fine

However, my solicitor is requesting three months of my relative's bank statements, and saying they must disclose it to the bank. If I can't provide this, they can't progress. 
Is this normal?

Seeing as the bank already knows about the gift and didn't ask for my relative's bank statements, why is the solicitor doing this? I think it's a bit invasive on the solicitors part, or perhaps this is totally normal?

Thanks

oldbikebloke

your solicitor has a duty imposed on them by law to undertake anti money laundering checks - that means taking "reasonable" steps to confirm the origin of the money 
3 months statements is therefore the bare minimum to pay lip service to showing the solicitor the money has not originated from Russian mafia deals or other "dubious" sources 

Slithery

gcpbuyer said:

I think it's a bit invasive on the solicitors part, or perhaps this is totally normal?

Completely normal and required by law. Otherwise Uncle Giovanni from Sicily could just gift you all of his 'savings' for you to legally invest in UK property and then transfer back over to the family business....

Or would you prefer it if the government just didn't bother checking this sort of thing?

MaryNB

Anti money laundering. My parents and I had to provide my solicitor with a huge amount of info. My bank didn't even ask for a gifted deposit letter. It was all done via my solicitor (who was also acting for the lender as I presume yours is).

My mother had to give current account statements showing her salary coming in and her savings accumulating. My father had to get a letter from his employer confirming his retirement payout 8 years ago and his account statements showing where the money had been since. Both provided a written explanation of how the funds accumulated. I had to provided proof of all the transactions after the money was transferred to my account (I supplied a written explanation as well). I also had to show proof of how I accumulated my proportion of the deposit.

annetheman

My solicitor also asked for my dad's passport photocopy, his GMC registration number to ensure he's actually a working doctor, the 3 months' worth of bank statements and another 'gift declaration letter'. 
Lender only asked for one gift letter like yours but the solicitor is acting on both our behalfs.

As above, it is normal and part of AML checks. Ironically it's taken so long I no longer need my dad's help with deposit (managed to save the money he gave me due to EWS1 delays!) but if I send it back, I'm afraid it would imply it was a loan not a gift. So just keeping and using it anyway!

Whatever the bank, solicitor or broker asks for, you can assure it is to get you over the line to have an approved mortgage offer for your home. Just play along and don't feel personally hard done by by any of it, I can assure you they would rather not have the hassle - anything they ask for, they have to.

Being cooperative and responding to requests for documents quickly is for your benefit, trust me - the process is complicated enough as it is!

GN2020

It’s totally normal. They have to do this to comply with anti money laundering legislation. 

They just need to see that the money is coming from legitimate means, that it hasn’t been transferred around several different bank accounts and been laundered. 

davidmcn

Aside from the anti-money-laundering regulations, it's also so the solicitor can confirm to the lender that the source of the gift is the one they approved. And presumably they're also wanting your own ID and bank statements? Same reasons. 

steampowered

The conveyancer/solicitor is under a legal obligation to check that the money being used to buy the property does not come from the "proceeds of crime". Completely standard practice now.

gcpbuyer

Great, thanks all. Makes sense!