Bank account closure after mother's death ,and what you can do with it

Froglet

Following my mother's death last month I have sent the death certificate to her HSBC  bank.They are sending a closure form,and as i am with them also,they don't need probate to release it.I am the executor of her will.Once closed i am concerned about where the money goes while probate takes place,which i am doing myself.If i add it my joint account which i hold with my husband ,how do i prove later on it has not been touched.Or can i distribute it to my 2 sisters before then? If i ask for it to be transferred to a savings account,could i then take out what is currently in there ,so only that money remains ? What do probate actually want to see,the closing statement or where the money is at that point in time ?
There are no bills to pay,i drew some money out just before she died to pay for her funeral and that is all paid up.My sister,still living in Mum's property has transferred all the bills to herself as Mum was in a care home for 6 months.So it's pretty straight forward.the will states all her estate is to be distributed equally between the three of us.
I know i can open an executor's account at the HSBC for the money to go into,but i don't want to have to visit a branch to set it up,they've closed all our local ones.So much to do ,I am floundering a bit.Has anyone been in this situation please?

ellie99

Sorry for your loss.
When I was in the same position I opened a second 
basic current account with my bank (was able to do it online). I told the rest of the family where it was just in case anything happened to me.

Probate don't want to know where the money is, just the final balance.

74jax

Is your sister buying you both out or are you selling the property ? The money in the estate will go towards selling costs etc before distribution. 

Do you final statements for the care home and from her pension and benefits? 

Froglet

Thank you Ellie.That sounds ideal.When i get the closure form it asks what i want to do with it,so i will ring and ask them.Were you able to distribute the money to the people named on the will in advance of probate? We are not selling the property until next year.

74jax

Froglet said:

Thank you Ellie.That sounds ideal.When i get the closure form it asks what i want to do with it,so i will ring and ask them.Were you able to distribute the money to the people named on the will in advance of probate? We are not selling the property until next year.

Next year, as in January time? You might want to hold on the estate money for any maintenance that crops up as the property will be owned by the estate. 

Or next year, as in summer onwards? And the property is being transferred into your 3 names in the meantime? 

Froglet

Thanks,no,my other sister and I are happy to wait,as she is awaiting a hip operation at the moment.we will sell it probably in the spring.

p00hsticks

Froglet said:

Thank you Ellie.That sounds ideal.When i get the closure form it asks what i want to do with it,so i will ring and ask them.Were you able to distribute the money to the people named on the will in advance of probate? We are not selling the property until next year.

If I were you I'd keep the money separate and avoid distributing anything as yet - in my experience there will be quite a few expenses to be met - funeral costs,  house insurance (which is likely to be much more expensive and cover fewer risks if the house is unoccupied), heating costs (probably a condition of the insurance that the house is kept at a mimimum temperature over winter),  house clearance, upfront payment on account for a solicitor when you come to sell, etc etc.

I found I've ended up having to put money temporarily into the executors account to meet the expenses so far, which I'll claim back when the house is sold.

Froglet

p00hsticks said:

Froglet said:

Thank you Ellie.That sounds ideal.When i get the closure form it asks what i want to do with it,so i will ring and ask them.Were you able to distribute the money to the people named on the will in advance of probate? We are not selling the property until next year.

If I were you I'd keep the money separate and avoid distributing anything as yet - in my experience there will be quite a few expenses to be met - funeral costs,  house insurance (which is likely to be much more expensive and cover fewer risks if the house is unoccupied), heating costs (probably a condition of the insurance that the house is kept at a mimimum temperature over winter),  house clearance, upfront payment on account for a solicitor when you come to sell, etc etc.

I found I've ended up having to put money temporarily into the executors account to meet the expenses so far, which I'll claim back when the house is sold.

Thanks.Funeral is paid for already,and one of my sister's is still in the property,havin g lived there with Mum for 20 years.She is paying the bills,already in her name.We are using some money she gave us permission to transfer from her account when she went into a care home in March,for any maintenance.

Froglet

74jax said:

Is your sister buying you both out or are you selling the property ? The money in the estate will go towards selling costs etc before distribution. 

Do you final statements for the care home and from her pension and benefits? 

Yes,everything is up to date.I had power of attorney while she was in the care home and kept all records of expenses.When she died I contacted pension,benefits and the care home and got final statements before asking to close her account.She only had the one current account .

Froglet

Sorry 74jax,no she cannot afford to buy us out,we will sell next spring when she's had her hip operation,but will have to rent somewhere.She has had M.E. for 15 years,hasn't worked since,and is on benefits until 2023 when She will get her state pension.

74jax

Froglet said:

74jax said:

Is your sister buying you both out or are you selling the property ? The money in the estate will go towards selling costs etc before distribution. 

Do you final statements for the care home and from her pension and benefits? 

Yes,everything is up to date.I had power of attorney while she was in the care home and kept all records of expenses.When she died I contacted pension,benefits and the care home and got final statements before asking to close her account.She only had the one current account .

If you all agree I would do an interim payment to you all, but I'd definately keep hold of some money for things that have a habit of popping up 🙈. 

It is more costly to have the property put in your 3 names and THEN sell, than it is for the property to be sold from the estate, but if you are all in agreement and don't mind there isn't a problem.

You will all need to think about redoing your wills whilst you all own a 3rd, unless you are happy for your 3rd to pass as per your current will. 

Any benefits you all have (if any) may be affected by owning a 3rd, which wouldn't be the case if still held by the estate. Just something to consider.