How quickly can spouse get control of bank accounts after death?

Savvy_Sue

By the way, to the earlier suggestion that everything could be taken care of by setting up a joint account, it's an excellent idea as far as it goes, and does mean that on the first death the account will be transferred pretty much seamlessly to the survivor. 

However ... if either of you loses 'capacity', and the bank realises this, then the correct response from them is to freeze the account, lest the capable party runs off with the money, leaving the incapacitated person without access to those funds. That's the point at which you need Lasting Power of Attorney in place, so that the Attorney can step in and regain control of the account. So I'd suggest three things would be wise: a joint account; an account in her sole name; and Lasting Power of Attorney. 

Keep_pedalling

Savvy_Sue said:

By the way, to the earlier suggestion that everything could be taken care of by setting up a joint account, it's an excellent idea as far as it goes, and does mean that on the first death the account will be transferred pretty much seamlessly to the survivor. 

However ... if either of you loses 'capacity', and the bank realises this, then the correct response from them is to freeze the account, lest the capable party runs off with the money, leaving the incapacitated person without access to those funds. That's the point at which you need Lasting Power of Attorney in place, so that the Attorney can step in and regain control of the account. So I'd suggest three things would be wise: a joint account; an account in her sole name; and Lasting Power of Attorney. 

Plus wills, so 4 things😀

Edit - Get 50% of saving transferred to his wife. This could be important if he needs care so all of it could be used up leaving in a precarious position. 

I don’t think home ownership has been mentioned, but if the marital home is owned in his sole name then that needs changing to joint ownership. 

lr1277

A few other things for you to think about:
Credit card - do you have one? Is your wife a supplementary card holder? If yes to both, when you die and the bank are informed, both cards are cancelled. A credit card was useful for paying funeral expenses as well as day to day costs. 
Car insurance- do you have one car you both drive? The insurance will be cancelled when the primary policyholder dies.
Email accounts - where do important emails go? Can your wife access those emails? Is there 2FA for the emails? What happens if the phone that receives the 2FA dies and can’t be revived?
Ideally your wife has her own bank account, mobile phone and email address if she does not have these already.
Passwords for important accounts? Does your wife know their location and can access them?
Do you use smart meters or do you submit readings? If the latter does your wife know how to do this?
That’s it for the moment. But think about every bit of money that comes into your account or leaves your account. Can your wife manage those payments and all the organisations associated with those transfers of money?

As an aside, when my dad had a mobile phone, Tesco staff put the yahoo app on the phone. This was a pain when he was alive as we needed to use the app if we accessed his emails from another device. However after he died and his phone needed replacing, it was easy to move his email account to a new phone without needing a password. Well we got the technical staff at John Lewis to do it. Essentially we still have access to his emails which are checked periodically.

Robin9

@parkhall  To add to the list of things to consider -    what forms of ID does your wife have?    Drivers Licence /  Passport ...................

Unless she has some things in her name she may well be unable to satisfy the  ID requirements of some organisations.

Parkhall

SiliconChip said:

As you say, we don't know your circumstances, but from what you have told us there are elements that could be regarded as coercive control. If that's not the what's happening then you need to ensure that your spouse has proper access to funds (definitely not by using your card, which could easily end up woth both of you denied access) and learns how to use accounts in her own or joint names.

"from what you have told us there are elements that could be regarded as coercive control" - how dare you make that accusation! It is HIGHLY offensive. You know almost nothing about our circumstances.

Parkhall

Keep_pedalling said:

Savvy_Sue said:

By the way, to the earlier suggestion that everything could be taken care of by setting up a joint account, it's an excellent idea as far as it goes, and does mean that on the first death the account will be transferred pretty much seamlessly to the survivor. 

However ... if either of you loses 'capacity', and the bank realises this, then the correct response from them is to freeze the account, lest the capable party runs off with the money, leaving the incapacitated person without access to those funds. That's the point at which you need Lasting Power of Attorney in place, so that the Attorney can step in and regain control of the account. So I'd suggest three things would be wise: a joint account; an account in her sole name; and Lasting Power of Attorney. 

Plus wills, so 4 things😀

Edit - Get 50% of saving transferred to his wife. This could be important if he needs care so all of it could be used up leaving in a precarious position. 

I don’t think home ownership has been mentioned, but if the marital home is owned in his sole name then that needs changing to joint ownership. 

Already joint home ownership. At least half of saving already shared.

Parkhall

BrilliantButScary said:

Have you thought of other aspects that might make life very hard for your wife if anything happens to you?

How financially literate is she?
Will she be able to budget?
Will she be able to deal with utility companies etc? Does she have a pension?

I don't know your circumstances, but it is not a kindness to make or allow a person to be dependent 
on their spouse, as you cannot always be there to look after them. This doesn't just apply to finances.

Any dependence was never "allowed" or "planned". It just turned out that way due to circumstances beyond our control.

Parkhall

zagfles said:

Parkhall said:

RAS said:

The will may not be an issue if your estate is valued at less than £322k?

Your wife may not need probate to access accounts if the value in each is less than the bank's limit (can be £5-50k).

How does she access money now when she needs it? A second card on an account in your name?

We just share my card.

OMG seriously? If any sort of fraud occurred on your account, even if nothing to do with your wife's usage, and the bank starts asking questions like "have you given anyone else access to your account", "does anyone else know your PIN" and you either admit you have or lie and they find out, you'll be going through serious "rigmarole" to try to get your money back! 

Just set up a joint account, either your current one or a new one. Better rigmarole now than later. Also have joint savings that you can both access, or spread savings between you, or even put them mostly in her name as she's wasting her personal tax allowance if she has no income.  

Obviously you need to trust her, but as you give her your card to use you obviously do. 

Can anyone honestly say that they have never ever given their card and PIN to a highly trusted person to get some cash or buy something?

Keep_pedalling

Parkhall said:

zagfles said:

Parkhall said:

RAS said:

The will may not be an issue if your estate is valued at less than £322k?

Your wife may not need probate to access accounts if the value in each is less than the bank's limit (can be £5-50k).

How does she access money now when she needs it? A second card on an account in your name?

We just share my card.

OMG seriously? If any sort of fraud occurred on your account, even if nothing to do with your wife's usage, and the bank starts asking questions like "have you given anyone else access to your account", "does anyone else know your PIN" and you either admit you have or lie and they find out, you'll be going through serious "rigmarole" to try to get your money back! 

Just set up a joint account, either your current one or a new one. Better rigmarole now than later. Also have joint savings that you can both access, or spread savings between you, or even put them mostly in her name as she's wasting her personal tax allowance if she has no income.  

Obviously you need to trust her, but as you give her your card to use you obviously do. 

Can anyone honestly say that they have never ever given their card and PIN to a highly trusted person to get some cash or buy something?

I can, but I imaging lots of people have done it on occasions but few will do it on a permanent basis and it risks your account being frozen and eventually closed after a long winded fraud investigation (I am not accusing you of fraud, but this is what could happen)

Keep_pedalling

Parkhall said:

Keep_pedalling said:

Savvy_Sue said:

By the way, to the earlier suggestion that everything could be taken care of by setting up a joint account, it's an excellent idea as far as it goes, and does mean that on the first death the account will be transferred pretty much seamlessly to the survivor. 

However ... if either of you loses 'capacity', and the bank realises this, then the correct response from them is to freeze the account, lest the capable party runs off with the money, leaving the incapacitated person without access to those funds. That's the point at which you need Lasting Power of Attorney in place, so that the Attorney can step in and regain control of the account. So I'd suggest three things would be wise: a joint account; an account in her sole name; and Lasting Power of Attorney. 

Plus wills, so 4 things😀

Edit - Get 50% of saving transferred to his wife. This could be important if he needs care so all of it could be used up leaving in a precarious position. 

I don’t think home ownership has been mentioned, but if the marital home is owned in his sole name then that needs changing to joint ownership. 

Already joint home ownership. At least half of saving already shared.

That is good, if you both have a savings account with one of the main banks or Nationwide this might be a good place to look at setting up a joint current account especially if your wife does not have a driving licence or passport.

Your other main priorities should be getting LPAs in place and getting wills drawn up.