Natwest timescale and probate threshold?

rich_shot2003

We had a family member who passed away and have told Natwest by their click and notify service online and uploaded the death certificate and also passport and bank statement to prove who we are.

Does anyone know who have done this with Natwest know how long it takes them to sort out? is it a matter of weeks or months?

as there is only 1 bank account with around £6000 in it would we still need to go for probate as it comes under their probate threshold?

we have done everything since the death and no other family member will want anything as family did not get on and we had been left to deal with it all.

also Natwest did not ask for bank details to send the funds to so will they ask for that when they have closed account and sorted it out or take the account details of the bank statements we uploaded to them?

BooJewels

When I've done this - with other banks - you fill in the on-line form and they tend to write to you with instructions (depending on what course of action they think is suitable for the circumstances) and a paper form to sign, with a disclaimer about having the right to access the money etc.  Once they get that back (sometimes you can upload it, sometimes it needs posting back) they process the claim and usually release funds in due course.  The last one I did with Barclays was about 3 weeks.

£6k wouldn't normally require Probate before they release it.

As an aside, you don't get to decide who gets what - whether or not anyone else will 'want anything' or whether they got on.  If there was a will, then the instructions in that must be followed - if there wasn't a will, then you must follow the rules of intestacy  which determines the pattern of inheritance - it's a sot of legal flow chart.

Keep_pedalling

What is your relationship to the deceased? If you are a direct descendant then it should not be a problem but if you are a more distant relative they may require probate unless they made a will and you are a named executor. 

rich_shot2003

Keep_pedalling said:

What is your relationship to the deceased? If you are a direct descendant then it should not be a problem but if you are a more distant relative they may require probate unless they made a will and you are a named executor. 

There was no will.

it is my wife who,s dad died and i am the son in law but my wife did the claim with Natwest in her name as she is the daughter of the person who died.

it was my wife and me who was left to deal with everything as no one else in family wanted to.

rich_shot2003

Can i ask does anyone know if we would have to apply for Letters of Administration for Natwest if the sum in bank is around £6000 and is the letters the same as Probate?

BooJewels

Ordinarily, an amount of £6k probably wouldn't require Probate - but the bank are entitled to ask for it if they want to.

You said there was no will, so you can't apply for Probate - Letters of Administration is the non-will version of the court saying that you're (i.e. your wife) is the most entitled person to administer the estate.  It's usually expected to be the top person in the intestacy flow chart that I mentioned earlier.  So as the deceased's daughter, your wife would be someone suitable, depending on if her father still had a wife or she has other siblings.

ETA:  Link:  https://www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate/if-theres-not-a-will

Spendless

With Natwest it was weeks with a will. That's who my Nan banked with, she had around £22k in her bank at the point she died. Mum took in Nan's death cert, was asked if there was a will and when told yes asked for a copy of it which was given. Bank account was frozen for a few weeks then closed and money transferred to a bank account in my Mum's name (she's sole executor of the will). No probate needed - when I looked it up Natwest are one of the more generous in how much money you're allowed to have before it goes to probate  - assuming no property. 

rich_shot2003

Just a little update.

Yesterday got the form online from NW to e sign to close account and to put in bank details to have the money sent.

have to say NW have not taken long to get it this far so now just have to wait to get sent email telling us they have sent money.

BooJewels

Good news.  You might not hear from them about sending the money, I don't think I ever have, the first you usually know about it is the money appearing where you asked for it to be sent.  Then you'll probably get a closing statement in the post.

Spendless

Unless you've been told you'll receive an email closing the bank account, you won't receive one. My Mum doesn't have an email address, so she'd have had to use my Dad's if she'd been asked for one, so I know she wasn't. . I think she just received a statement saying how much paid over. As it was a differing amount to what had been in as Nan died and the closing balance wasn't the same as any transactions Mum was aware had gone in and out during this time, she had to go back in and it was their bereavement team that sorted out Mum getting a complete statement.