Bank requesting sight of probate but below threshold

lispy

Hi,

I'm dealing with my late father's estate. Our solicitor will be applying for probate in due course but I've been the one contacting and collecting info from various banks.

Coventry bank do not require a grant of probate for the ISA my dad had with them as way below their threshold and have sent a closing account form.

But there is a box saying if grant being applied for as required by other banks then tick here and they want to see it as well before closing the account.

However if you tick the other box stating it isn't being applied for then they'll close the account down and transfer the funds.

Why is this? And I presume I have to tell them even though they don't need the grant themselves?

jlfrs01

It may be to cover joint policies (if 1 account holder passes away and leaves a spouse everthing in which case Probate needn't be applied for). This was the case when my mother passed away but my father still had to provide a death certificate and sign various forms.

lispy

Thanks for your comment. My mother has already passed and the account was just in my father's sole name.

I'd like to close the account without waoting for the un-needed probate as I have a list that need probate and 3 banks that don't so would be good to just get some accounts closed and ticked off the admin list. 

SnowMan

It's a strange one isn't it? I've got the same closure form from the Coventry Building Society for the estate I'm obtaining probate for.

If you answer yes to the question 'Will you be obtaining a grant of probate or letters of administration?' then it says 'we will need to see the grant of probate or letters of administration if these are applied for - this includes if you have to apply for one for another organisation, and in all cases where the total balance held with us at the date of death is over £50,000. We'll need to see the original or certified copy'

And if you answer no they say 'we'll need to see the original death certificate or certified copy'

So that does imply you can't close the account if the balance is below £50,000 but you are still applying for probate because it is needed for other organisations, and when you obtain probate you have to send them the grant before you can close the account.

I'd give them a ring and ask if I were you. Use their specialist bereavement number. 

In my case I'm waiting for probate to close the account. 

Perhaps their logic is they don't want to make executors unnecessarily apply for probate in low balance scenarios, but if probate is required then they don't feel they are putting executors to any inconvenience because probate is being applied for anyway, while protecting themselves from someone wrongly getting hold of the balance. Of course if an unscrupulous next of kin ticks 'no' then they can still get hold of a sub 50K balance it appears.

lispy

Thanks SnowMan for your comments.

Yes it is a weird one. They've already had and sent back the death certificate.

The other two banks that don't need probate haven't even asked if we're applying for it for other organisations.

I feel like I can't knowingly tick the wrong box and say we aren't getting it, but it's annoying it's another one that I can't complete my dealings with by simply sending the closure form which effectively is all they want according to their policy 🤷🏼‍♀️.

BooJewels

When I was executor for my late aunt earlier this year, her bank asked me about what other accounts she held and her balances elsewhere.  She told me at the time that the total funds of the deceased are a factor they consider.  So whilst her total funds with her bank were above the threshold they'd usually ask for Probate for, they didn't in this instance, as these were her only funds.

So it could be that they're considering the bigger picture of your Dad's total funds held elsewhere.

billn

I was joint executor for my mothers estate and Nationwide said the same to me, the money in Nationwide was below their threshold but if I applied for probate they would want to see it, when I had obtained probate I took it into the local branch of Nationwide they copied it and closed the accounts straight away. It did seem strange but didn't hold anything up.