Inheritance: do I need to tell the bank where the money has come from?

Beddie

No need to tell them. I've had £100k+ from a house sale before, they don't ask questions as it's come from another UK bank. 

Section62

BooJewels said:

I just looked back at some of my bank statements and house proceeds from a solicitors, made as a BACS transfer just show the name of the solicitors in one case and in another from a different solicitors shows their company name along with the sold property address, which I assume they maybe added as a reference.  I received 2 cheques for the same pension settlement, one each paid in at a counter to a different bank and they each just show as a cheque deposit - with no details - one bank tells me which branch it was paid in at, nothing about where the cheque arose.

So I'm not sure that a cheque would actually be beneficial in this instance, for identifying the source of the funds.

In the OP's case the issue isn't about what eventually appears on the statement, it is how the bank handle a payment which is out of the normal for their use of the account.

If the payment is received and paid in by cheque then the OP's bank would have the original cheque (or an image of it) which would allow them to check the source of the payment fairly easily.  They won't need to look at the OP's statement(s) because by the time it appears on that the payment would have been accepted.

The main point was that the cheque paying-in/clearance  process is different to the electronic payment process.  If the OP fears a problem with an electronic payment then one way around it may be to get the money paid by cheque instead.  As they don't have your problem of then needing to split the amount between different beneficiaries their outcome may be different too.

BooJewels

@Section62 - I was responding to you and @eskbanker discussung whether the payer was identified or not with the transfer.  The twice I had an inheritance payment from a solicitor made by bank transfer, the name of the firm was identified and in one case, even the property address too.  Whilst what appears on the statement is only the very last step in the process, the fact that the information has accompanied the transaction will also surely be available at other points in the process too.

But presumably too, some of that data will require input (or things being correctly set up) by the sender at the time the transfer is made - and may vary between banks as to how much data the clerk setting up the payment can add etc. so there must be quite a bit of potential variation.

Cloth_of_Gold

Section62 said:

Cloth_of_Gold said:

I am about to receive the first tranche of an inheritance, which will be a substantial 5 figure sum. The money will be paid into my current account by the executor, who is a solicitor, so it will come form his firm's account. Is it likely that receiving this money into my account will raise any red flags at the bank? I have nothing to hide, obviously, so should I tell them in advance that this money will be credited to my account and where it has come from?

Personally if it was me I'd pay the money into a smallish local building society - at least initially - as they seem to be better at handling larger one-off payments, and being smaller may be more agile than a faceless big bank if it comes to querying the legitimacy of the deposit.

Secondly, unless they wanted to charge an unreasonable fee, I'd ask the solicitor to make the payment by cheque (if possible with me collecting it in person).  A cheque with the solicitor's details printed on it is possibly less likely to trip the AML/anti-fraud systems.  I'd also keep a photocopy of the original cheque (and paying-in receipt) as evidence in case anyone asks for source of funds proof in the future.

Edit:

BooJewels said:

I was put off ringing, after a conversation with one overseas call centre where I said I was ringing about 'my late father's account' and she said I'd have to get him to ring himself once he arrived home.

...a good example of how dealing with a local building society might be easier than a big bank.

There a range of views here but thank you to everyone for your comments. I'm warming to the idea of opening a building society account and having it paid into there. There is one that has a branch fairly close to where I live and I have been in there on more than one occasion with someone who has an account with them and the staff all seem very friendly and helpful and know what they're talking about. I'm old school and prefer to talk to someone face-to-face, as long as they are helpful and knowledgeable. 

 I could explain that although I'm opening the account with a small amount there will soon be a substantial sum coming into it and the reason for that. I could take the letter I received from the solicitor which details it all if they want to see it. I'm not bothered about getting the absolute best rates - minimising the hassle in my life is also important  - but their rates are pretty decent anyway.

The solicitor didn't offer a cheque as an option so I don't know if they will do that. Even if they would it's 150 miles from where I live so collecting it in person isn't really feasible.

BooJewels

@Cloth_of_Gold - you need to do what you feel comfortable with.  I have money in accounts with less than stellar interest rates, just because there's something about them I like or feel comfortable with.

They could post a cheque to you and you could then pay it in at the local branch.  When I paid in the pension cheques I mentioned earlier, I took all sorts of papers with me; death certificate, Will, letters from the pension company etc. assuming I might have to explain them, as they were the largest cheques I'd ever banked. They didn't bat an eye when I paid them in, neither bank was in the slightest bit interested - but they were printed official cheques from a well known pension company that advertise on TV.

Beddie

Ignore all of this cheque nonsense - it's 2023!

The transfer from a solicitor will cause you no issues whatsoever.

Bazzalona13295

I am going to be in a similar situation at some point over the next few months, absolutely no idea on the figure but it will be a few thousand I'd guess.
As I have a number of different accounts with banks/building societies are there any you would recommend as 'hassle free' and any to avoid?

Tend to think Santander are one to avoid.

Gers

My payment from an inheritance property sale arrived in my account within 10 minutes of me receiving the email from my solicitor. No comment from my bank when I went in to move a substantial amount by CHAPS. They could clearly see who the sender was and had no qualms.

Waiting for a cheque to clear these days, especially for such a large amount, is really a waste of time and no more secure. 

Section62

Beddie said:

Ignore all of this cheque nonsense - it's 2023!

The transfer from a solicitor will cause you no issues whatsoever.

Yes, it is 2023.  And lots of organisations still make payments using cheques because it is a reasonably quick and low-cost way to make large payments securely.  If they still do it, why wouldn't anyone else consider it as an option?

Smaller building societies in particular still love to issue a cheque for withdrawals - so their staff understand the cheque system and it doesn't phase them in the slightest when a customer asks to deposit a large sum by cheque.

Of course if you can offer a guarantee a "transfer from a solicitor will cause [the OP] no issues whatsoever" then you may have a point.  But based on problems forum members have had over the years with large or unusual payments then I'd suggest that any "nonsense" here is the assertion without basis that the OP will have "no issues whatsoever".  Maybe they will, maybe they won't.  None of us can say for sure.

Section62

Gers said:

Waiting for a cheque to clear these days, especially for such a large amount, is really a waste of time and no more secure. 

These days cheques usually clear next working day, or faster in some cases.

The primary issue here is not about how secure the options are, rather the risk of an electronic payment being held up for checks, or in the worst case the OP's current account being frozen pending the bank's enquiries.  People having problems like that are part of the routine on this forum.  The OP is sensible for thinking whether there is anything they can do to mitigate the potential risks.