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

Mojisola

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?

It would be better for you to receive the whole sum and to do an interim distribution if any of the beneficiaries really need it.

I don't think a bank will spread the money between the beneficiaries - you are the one who signed the form and I think they will only pay the money to you.

ellie99

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.

No I didn't distribute any money before probate as probate was needed to get most of the accounts closed. As each bank paid out I put it in the new account, and used the money from there for any bills which came up. 
If you want to make an interim payment be very sure you hold enough back for any bills which you might get.

Froglet

74jax said:

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. 

We don't intend to change ownership so all 3 names are on the deeds,pointless when we know we are selling it at some point.Hadn't even occurred to me to be honest.It's a lot of expense long term,best all round just to sell it,but my sister living in it and paying the day to day bills suits us until she's more mobile.Thank you for your help.

Froglet

Thank you everybody for your valuable input ,has helped a lot.Luckily Mum ,before she got ill,was very organised and made sure it would be reasonably simple to cope with matters when the day came.Having her in care,and having to jump through hoops to satisfy the local authorities,and get the power of attorney applied to the bank have sort of honed my financial skills but it's still a bit of a minefield when you haven't done it before.

p00hsticks

74jax said:

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.

I think that may depend on if and by how much the value of the property increases between the date of death and when it is sold, and the individual circumstances of the individuals inheriting. An estate only has one Capital Gains Tax allowance (to be used against the whole gain),  whereas three individuals selling as joint owners each have their own CGT allowance for their third.

thegreenone

I am sorry for your loss.  My mother died a year ago today.

HSBC were happy to close Mum's account and send the money to my Halifax account on sight of the death certificate and Will.  I renamed a sub-account to my Mum's name and transferred the money there.  I've been paying all the bills from that account.  We only completed on the flat sale two weeks and I still have a tax bill (arising from her With Profits Bond) and CGT to pay.  I'm waiting to hear from HMRC for that.  The solicitor paid the EA and themselves (!) and passed the remainder to me.

Agree with above, may be, small interim payments but please keep money back.  

Froglet

thegreenone said:

I am sorry for your loss.  My mother died a year ago today.

HSBC were happy to close Mum's account and send the money to my Halifax account on sight of the death certificate and Will.  I renamed a sub-account to my Mum's name and transferred the money there.  I've been paying all the bills from that account.  We only completed on the flat sale two weeks and I still have a tax bill (arising from her With Profits Bond) and CGT to pay.  I'm waiting to hear from HMRC for that.  The solicitor paid the EA and themselves (!) and passed the remainder to me.

Agree with above, may be, small interim payments but please keep money back.  

thegreenone said:

I am sorry for your loss.  My mother died a year ago today.

HSBC were happy to close Mum's account and send the money to my Halifax account on sight of the death certificate and Will.  I renamed a sub-account to my Mum's name and transferred the money there.  I've been paying all the bills from that account.  We only completed on the flat sale two weeks and I still have a tax bill (arising from her With Profits Bond) and CGT to pay.  I'm waiting to hear from HMRC for that.  The solicitor paid the EA and themselves (!) and passed the remainder to me.

Agree with above, may be, small interim payments but please keep money back.  

Thank you.Today must be hard for you too.I am going to ring HSBC this afternoon and see what they can offer.It does sound as if I could use one of my existing accounts online,as you have.It isn't very much,the care home put paid to half of what she had until the local authority took over but we wanted her to have the best of care,hoping they could improve her health.Sadly,nothing could She was 91.It's very hard  to come to terms with,especially when I'm having to do all the financial stuff,as I have been doing for almost a year.I feel I haven't had the time to grieve yet.

MEM62

Froglet said:

thegreenone said:

I am sorry for your loss.  My mother died a year ago today.

HSBC were happy to close Mum's account and send the money to my Halifax account on sight of the death certificate and Will.  I renamed a sub-account to my Mum's name and transferred the money there.  I've been paying all the bills from that account.  We only completed on the flat sale two weeks and I still have a tax bill (arising from her With Profits Bond) and CGT to pay.  I'm waiting to hear from HMRC for that.  The solicitor paid the EA and themselves (!) and passed the remainder to me.

Agree with above, may be, small interim payments but please keep money back.  

thegreenone said:

I am sorry for your loss.  My mother died a year ago today.

HSBC were happy to close Mum's account and send the money to my Halifax account on sight of the death certificate and Will.  I renamed a sub-account to my Mum's name and transferred the money there.  I've been paying all the bills from that account.  We only completed on the flat sale two weeks and I still have a tax bill (arising from her With Profits Bond) and CGT to pay.  I'm waiting to hear from HMRC for that.  The solicitor paid the EA and themselves (!) and passed the remainder to me.

Agree with above, may be, small interim payments but please keep money back.  

I am going to ring HSBC this afternoon and see what they can offer.

You need to ask them to open an executor's account.  It is the easiest was to keep things clear and simple.