Closing bank accounts on behalf of survivor

Brie

waveyjane said:

Thanks. First tried Barclays Bereavement Team who say no can do as the account is now not in the name of the deceased. Put me on to Customer Services who demand password, phone app etc. she doesn't have so they won't speak to us. Same again for Lloyds who say it's not a Bereavement case. I'm assuming Nat West will say the same.

Looks like I'm going to have to take her into branches with her ID and see if we can get it done there. There is the PoA option (which I have) but that's a bit OTT just to close an account.

If the account is no longer in your father's name then whose name is on it?  Presumably it might be The Estate of "waveyjane's dad" or similar.  As executor you could go into a branch (probably need an appointment, assuming you can get one....) and show the will and death certificate, possibly your parent's marriage certificate and other proof your mom's his wife.  Frankly I can't see why any bank would NOT consider this as  a bereavement case as that's precisely what it is.

fyi - if the PoA was for your dad it's not worth anything to you now.  If it's for your mom then you could do everything without her attending with you - but best to ask when you make the appointments to avoid any issues.

Sarahspangles

waveyjane said:

Sarahspangles said:

It’s possible your father was spreading risk as FSCS only covers £85k per banking group.

Yes, I think you may be right. However, I think for the time my mother is alive I will recommend she consolidates to as simple an arrangement as possible.

On the off chance your mum is a saver rather than a spender you could consider Premium Bonds.  I know the nominal interest rate isn’t great but with MIL they were useful because she didn’t see the prizes as interest, but rather as a windfall, and she would actually spend those!  And when the sad time comes, PBs can just sit quietly accumulating further tax free prizes while the estate is sorted out.

JGB1955

Presumably, if the accounts were originally joint accounts, they are now sole accounts in your mother's name.  If there are cheque books for the accounts, can't she just write out a cheque to herself for the balance and pay it into an account of her choice (assuming she doesn't want to maintain the original accounts)?

Sarahspangles

JGB1955 said:

Presumably, if the accounts were originally joint accounts, they are now sole accounts in your mother's name.  If there are cheque books for the accounts, can't she just write out a cheque to herself for the balance and pay it into an account of her choice (assuming she doesn't want to maintain the original accounts)?

What a good idea - in fact if Mum orders a card and chequebook/PIN to come to her home, many banks will allow you to make some transactions via the Post Office, so you may not have the hassle of ever needing to go into one of the dwindling number of branches.

poppystar

JGB1955 said:

Presumably, if the accounts were originally joint accounts, they are now sole accounts in your mother's name.  If there are cheque books for the accounts, can't she just write out a cheque to herself for the balance and pay it into an account of her choice (assuming she doesn't want to maintain the original accounts)?

But that won’t give OP the information on the direct debits and regular payments from the accounts that are wanted. Having said that presumably statements will now be going to the wife unless the accounts are paperless. 

waveyjane

JGB1955 said:

Presumably, if the accounts were originally joint accounts, they are now sole accounts in your mother's name.  If there are cheque books for the accounts, can't she just write out a cheque to herself for the balance and pay it into an account of her choice (assuming she doesn't want to maintain the original accounts)?

Indeed, I've just visited a branch of one of the banks myself to ask. I think (but I'm not sure) she has the cheque books. So they said the path of least resistance would be:

 1. Call customer service and explain that she only wants to hear the balance and a list of any DDs and SOs on the account. This should mean they don't have to do all the security app code stuff that will confuse her (not least as she doesn't have a mobile nor does she have any telephone banking).

2. Put the phone down and write a cheque to herself. Pay that into her own account. 

If she doesn't have a cheque book, then she can try writing to the bank to close the account instead. But her wet ink signature needs to match that of their records. I think it might as she presumably would have have had to give them a signature when Dad opened it as a joint account.

BTW I hear what others are saying about not having large amounts sitting in current accounts etc. All that's in hand.

waveyjane

Brie said:

If the account is no longer in your father's name then whose name is on it?  Presumably it might be The Estate of "waveyjane's dad" or similar.  As executor you could go into a branch (probably need an appointment, assuming you can get one....) and show the will and death certificate, possibly your parent's marriage certificate and other proof your mom's his wife.  Frankly I can't see why any bank would NOT consider this as  a bereavement case as that's precisely what it is.

fyi - if the PoA was for your dad it's not worth anything to you now.  If it's for your mom then you could do everything without her attending with you - but best to ask when you make the appointments to avoid any issues.

It's joint accounts we're talking about. The banks have been notified and all duly removed his name from them leaving hers. The issue is that she has no way of managing the accounts (and doesn't' want to have them). But the banks assume she does 

When I mentioned PoA I was referring to hers (so many things to make clear in all this estate management business phrew!). But I don't want to invoke that just to close an account as they'll demand copies of the doc, we'll have to pay the solicitors - don't want to go there.

JGB1955

waveyjane said:

JGB1955 said:

Presumably, if the accounts were originally joint accounts, they are now sole accounts in your mother's name.  If there are cheque books for the accounts, can't she just write out a cheque to herself for the balance and pay it into an account of her choice (assuming she doesn't want to maintain the original accounts)?

Indeed, I've just visited a branch of one of the banks myself to ask. I think (but I'm not sure) she has the cheque books. So they said the path of least resistance would be:

 1. Call customer service and explain that she only wants to hear the balance and a list of any DDs and SOs on the account. This should mean they don't have to do all the security app code stuff that will confuse her (not least as she doesn't have a mobile nor does she have any telephone banking).

2. Put the phone down and write a cheque to herself. Pay that into her own account. 

If she doesn't have a cheque book, then she can try writing to the bank to close the account instead. But her wet ink signature needs to match that of their records. I think it might as she presumably would have have had to give them a signature when Dad opened it as a joint account.

BTW I hear what others are saying about not having large amounts sitting in current accounts etc. All that's in hand.

I hope that works!  As an aside, my father continued to write cheques on their joint accounts (with both names on the cheque) for quite some time after my mother's death.  It upset me, a little, receiving cheques with my mother's name still on them but (retrospectively) makes total sense - why order a new cheque book when the old one will work fine?

Marmaduke123

JGB1955 said:

waveyjane said:

JGB1955 said:

Presumably, if the accounts were originally joint accounts, they are now sole accounts in your mother's name.  If there are cheque books for the accounts, can't she just write out a cheque to herself for the balance and pay it into an account of her choice (assuming she doesn't want to maintain the original accounts)?

Indeed, I've just visited a branch of one of the banks myself to ask. I think (but I'm not sure) she has the cheque books. So they said the path of least resistance would be:

 1. Call customer service and explain that she only wants to hear the balance and a list of any DDs and SOs on the account. This should mean they don't have to do all the security app code stuff that will confuse her (not least as she doesn't have a mobile nor does she have any telephone banking).

2. Put the phone down and write a cheque to herself. Pay that into her own account. 

If she doesn't have a cheque book, then she can try writing to the bank to close the account instead. But her wet ink signature needs to match that of their records. I think it might as she presumably would have have had to give them a signature when Dad opened it as a joint account.

BTW I hear what others are saying about not having large amounts sitting in current accounts etc. All that's in hand.

I hope that works!  As an aside, my father continued to write cheques on their joint accounts (with both names on the cheque) for quite some time after my mother's death.  It upset me, a little, receiving cheques with my mother's name still on them but (retrospectively) makes total sense - why order a new cheque book when the old one will work fine?

When my husband died one of our current account account banks issued a new cheque book in my sole name when they removed his name from our joint account. The other didn't, and I'm still using checques with both our names on the rare occasions that a cheque is needed.

TripleH

I think taking paperwork in to the bank and making an appointment might be the easier option if possible.

My mother did that with my parents' business account as online and telephone attempts proved fruitless (they wouldn't deal with me despite being a director).