Freezing bank accounts

JousterX

Just a quick question about freezing bank accounts before probate. As you may have noticed from my other thread, the currently active executor in my situation seems to be dragging their feet and not telling me much about what they're doing. I'm concerned about the security of the bank accounts, and I'm also not keen for them to moving money from the deceased's bank accounts to their own bank account. So I'm keen to get the bank accounts frozen myself (I'm also an executor). Do I just need a copy of the death certificate, or does it have to be the original?

Also, what else do I need, copy of the will proving I'm an executor and proofs of identity?

Thank you.

kazwookie

Ring up the bank and ask for the bereavement team, they will be able to guide you / answer your questions.

Savvy_Sue

All death certificates are copies of the entry in the register. If your co-executor registered the death, they may have asked for multiple copies, but if they did not, you could order more yourself. 

Who has the will?

First priority is freezing the accounts.

JousterX

Savvy_Sue said:

All death certificates are copies of the entry in the register. If your co-executor registered the death, they may have asked for multiple copies, but if they did not, you could order more yourself. 

Who has the will?

First priority is freezing the accounts.

Solicitors have the will, but I have a copy.

Actually, one thing I've just thought of. If I do freeze all the accounts, could the executor that I feel's a little on the untrustworthy side, still move the money from the accounts to his own account, or is the money permanently locked until the will is settled and money disbursed to the inheritors?

SiliconChip

JousterX said:

Savvy_Sue said:

All death certificates are copies of the entry in the register. If your co-executor registered the death, they may have asked for multiple copies, but if they did not, you could order more yourself. 

Who has the will?

First priority is freezing the accounts.

Actually, one thing I've just thought of. If I do freeze all the accounts, could the executor that I feel's a little on the untrustworthy side, still move the money from the accounts to his own account, or is the money permanently locked until the will is settled and money disbursed to the inheritors?

It really depends on the policy of the individual bank, and may take the amount of money into account. For larger amounts it's very likely that a grant of probate will be required to release the money, but smaller amounts may well be released with just a death certificate. In most cases I would expect all executors to need to give approval for the transfer to take place, except perhaps for accounts that contain trivial sums.

Savvy_Sue

Have been thinking about this a bit more: you are not completely trusting of your co-executor, but you also acknowledge that someone else may be involved in doing something untrustworthy. 

You also say that this is new to both you and your co-executor, and that a solicitor has the will. 

Whoever actually applies for probate will have to have the original will, and both of you will have to sign the paperwork unless one of you renounces (plays no further part in the process) or takes power reserved (allows the other to take all the action but can step back in at any time if they wish to). 

If the will and the estate is otherwise straightforward, I'd suggest getting something like the Which Guide to Wills and Probate, a copy for each of you if necessary, from your local library or from some well known bookselling emporium.

I'd also suggest making a joint appointment with a solicitor, either in person or online, where both of you ask the solicitor to explain the process in layman's terms. 

Explain to your co-executor that as this is new to both of you, that will enable you both to understand the process, and a single meeting should not be expensive (may even be free). If you phrase it in those terms rather than "I don't trust you and think something dodgy is going on" it may help. Or if you have a.n.other person in mind who you are unsure of, it may help to express your concerns over the missing bank statements. 

A simple estate really isn't hard to deal with, but you do need to have confidence in the figures you're putting on the forms. 

If you and the other executor really can't get along and don't trust each other, then agreeing to ask the solicitor to deal with it may be helpful. They will want to have confidence in the figures they are putting on the forms too ... 

JousterX

Savvy_Sue said:

Have been thinking about this a bit more: you are not completely trusting of your co-executor, but you also acknowledge that someone else may be involved in doing something untrustworthy. 

You also say that this is new to both you and your co-executor, and that a solicitor has the will. 

Whoever actually applies for probate will have to have the original will, and both of you will have to sign the paperwork unless one of you renounces (plays no further part in the process) or takes power reserved (allows the other to take all the action but can step back in at any time if they wish to). 

If the will and the estate is otherwise straightforward, I'd suggest getting something like the Which Guide to Wills and Probate, a copy for each of you if necessary, from your local library or from some well known bookselling emporium.

I'd also suggest making a joint appointment with a solicitor, either in person or online, where both of you ask the solicitor to explain the process in layman's terms. 

Explain to your co-executor that as this is new to both of you, that will enable you both to understand the process, and a single meeting should not be expensive (may even be free). If you phrase it in those terms rather than "I don't trust you and think something dodgy is going on" it may help. Or if you have a.n.other person in mind who you are unsure of, it may help to express your concerns over the missing bank statements. 

A simple estate really isn't hard to deal with, but you do need to have confidence in the figures you're putting on the forms. 

If you and the other executor really can't get along and don't trust each other, then agreeing to ask the solicitor to deal with it may be helpful. They will want to have confidence in the figures they are putting on the forms too ... 

Thanks, some good advice. I'll have a look into the Which guide.

JousterX

kazwookie said:

Ring up the bank and ask for the bereavement team, they will be able to guide you / answer your questions.

Looks like some banks don't have anything like that over the phone. I was told to go into branch. I have only called one bank, though.

JousterX

Thanks for the replies, people.

I giving consideration to creating an account to put the money into. If I decided to take control, and close the accounts into an account of mine, would it need to be a new account created? Would it need to be special type of account created for this sort of thing? And would the banks take issue if I wasn't the "informer" on the death certificate, even though I can prove from a will copy that I'm an executor?

Thank you.

BooJewels

My sister and I are joint executors on my late father's estate and my sister registered the death and I do the admin work - including managing the money.  I set up a separate current account for that purpose which ended up in my sole name - because we did it in the first lockdown and it wasn't possible for both of us to attend the same bank to do otherwise.  

So to answer that question - no it doesn't matter if the account holder isn't the person who informed of the death.  It's the fact that you're executor that determines that right.  I can't remember if I even had to prove this to open the account - but you will to the banks with the actual money that you want transferring to the new account.

You can open specific executor accounts, but these are probably overkill for most simple estates and have a lot of practical restrictions on them.  My bank advised against one unless the account was complicated.  Not all banks even offer them.  I'd start at your own bank, as they already know you, which was what I did.

Thrugelmir

JousterX said:

 I'm concerned about the security of the bank accounts, and I'm also not keen for them to moving money from the deceased's bank accounts to their own bank account.

The bank should have been promptly informed of the deceased's demise. At which point the account would have been frozen. Access to the funds other than for payment of the funeral is barred. Any remaining funds being released once probate is granted.