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Friend died - we found over £100,000 cash in her house - banks refusing to take it - what to do?

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  • walrrrus
    walrrrus Posts: 17 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture First Post Combo Breaker
    If you got a freind to take it to the police saying they 'found' it, the police would have to store it - it should be fairly safe in police station. Then you find a bank that would take it and you could go and 'claim' it.
  • Grumpy_chap
    Grumpy_chap Posts: 18,306 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    walrrrus said:
    If you got a freind to take it to the police saying they 'found' it, the police would have to store it - it should be fairly safe in police station. Then you find a bank that would take it and you could go and 'claim' it.
    The Police might accept the friend handing in the "found" money, but there will no doubt be some quizzing.
    When the OP goes to claim the money, the Police will need some justification as to why this is the OPs to claim
  • SAC2334
    SAC2334 Posts: 867 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 2 November 2022 at 10:11AM
    When I dealt with two people s estates being an Executor is not enough proof  to approach banks and get information on private bank account s. You would need the official document issued by the Probate Registry called Letters of Administration.
    You are going to need that to dig deeper into the deceased bank account (s ) and get proper information on the house sale and where that money ended up by following the banking trail . 
    Once you have Letters of Administration you can then approach all other banks to find out if there were other accounts.
     
    EDIT. people will hide money from the DWP so they can claim extra benefits and claim they have no savings .This is what my Uncle did when he hid £10,000 . 
    Most of it was reclaimed back once they examined his bank account in detail after his death 
  • tetrarch
    tetrarch Posts: 332 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Have you considered renting a safety deprosit box?

    It is a perfectly reasonable cost to charge to the estate until yo can find a solution. I imagine that cash from a estate disbursement should be acceptable to the beneficiaries' bank(s) when the estate is finally settled

    Regards

    Tet
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 20,564 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper
    walrrrus said:
    If you got a freind to take it to the police saying they 'found' it, the police would have to store it - it should be fairly safe in police station. Then you find a bank that would take it and you could go and 'claim' it.
    The Police might accept the friend handing in the "found" money, but there will no doubt be some quizzing.
    When the OP goes to claim the money, the Police will need some justification as to why this is the OPs to claim
    I think that should read. 100% proof of the source. Simply saying "I found it in friends house" would not cut it. As well as throwing up well how did the person that handed it in get it?

    Still does not solve the issue of paying it into a bank.🤷‍♀️
    Life in the slow lane
  • SAC2334
    SAC2334 Posts: 867 Forumite
    500 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 1 November 2022 at 9:26PM
    Executors of Estates can be prosecuted if they mishandle the full estate incorrectly..You can t just wing it and hand it into police .. Keep it hidden in your property somewhere . You have to play it 100 % legal and firstly get power via Letters of Administration to deal with all banks to get a full banking trail of where this large sum came from..Pensions are paid into bank accounts nowadays and that will be a start to examine that account going back years .Once that is established the bank should accept it as proof and you are not money laundering.
  • Grizebeck
    Grizebeck Posts: 3,967 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 1 November 2022 at 10:36PM
    SAC2334 said:
    Executors of Estates can be prosecuted if they mishandle the full estate incorrectly..You can t just wing it and hand it into police .. Keep it hidden in your property somewhere . You have to play it 100 % legal and firstly get power via Letters of Administration to deal with all banks to get a full banking trail of where this large sum came from..Pensions are paid into bank accounts nowadays and that will be a start to examine that account going back years .Once that is established the bank should accept it as proof and you are not money laundering.
    This
    But you can legally hold onto the cash and the distribute the cash to the beneficiceries of the estate and then it becomes their problem (so to speak)
    There is no legal requirement for you to bank the money and no reason why you can divide the cash as per the will or as such as rules of inherritance
  • Seems crazy to "hide in house" though.  As tetrarch advised above - rent a safety deposit box asap! 
    Get a few trusted witnesses to confirm your counts too... 
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 22,636 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts I've been Money Tipped! Name Dropper
    Grizebeck said:
    SAC2334 said:
    Executors of Estates can be prosecuted if they mishandle the full estate incorrectly..You can t just wing it and hand it into police .. Keep it hidden in your property somewhere . You have to play it 100 % legal and firstly get power via Letters of Administration to deal with all banks to get a full banking trail of where this large sum came from..Pensions are paid into bank accounts nowadays and that will be a start to examine that account going back years .Once that is established the bank should accept it as proof and you are not money laundering.
    This
    But you can legally hold onto the cash and the distribute the cash to the beneficiceries of the estate and then it becomes their problem (so to speak)
    There is no legal requirement for you to bank the money and no reason why you can divide the cash as per the will or as such as rules of inherritance
    Do you envisage packing a wad of notes into an envelope and posting it to companies to pay outstanding debts, to a beneficiaries?

  • Grizebeck
    Grizebeck Posts: 3,967 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    sheramber said:
    Grizebeck said:
    SAC2334 said:
    Executors of Estates can be prosecuted if they mishandle the full estate incorrectly..You can t just wing it and hand it into police .. Keep it hidden in your property somewhere . You have to play it 100 % legal and firstly get power via Letters of Administration to deal with all banks to get a full banking trail of where this large sum came from..Pensions are paid into bank accounts nowadays and that will be a start to examine that account going back years .Once that is established the bank should accept it as proof and you are not money laundering.
    This
    But you can legally hold onto the cash and the distribute the cash to the beneficiceries of the estate and then it becomes their problem (so to speak)
    There is no legal requirement for you to bank the money and no reason why you can divide the cash as per the will or as such as rules of inherritance
    Do you envisage packing a wad of notes into an envelope and posting it to companies to pay outstanding debts, to a beneficiaries?

    I see no issue with that for beneficiaries
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