Premium Bond Question keeping money in after death
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GillyFlower
Posts: 147 Forumite
My mother sadly passed away in May this year. I will not go into family issues but I have two brothers - one is the executor and I am second if he is unable to. (Thankfully no property and but hard earned savings in Premium Bonds and current account.)
My other brother stayed with our mother for a few months to care for her. (These two brothers do not get on at all. I prefer not to get involved but both know I do not tell lies and want things done properly.)
My brother (who stayed with her) said our mother saw something on TV that said you can ask for your Premium Bonds to be kept in for a 1 year after your death. He reckons she wrote a letter and requested it. (I was her carer basically for 10 years getting extremely hard towards the end and that is why this brother came to help at my request. My mother NEVER said anything to me about this letter to National Savings. We were very close so it is confusing.)
There is nothing in her will about her bonds written 2 years earlier it states her savings to be divided and it is set out.
I have heard nothing from my brother, the executor, as yet about how anything has been settled. Not spoken to him since the funeral .... in fact a very difficult person to deal with.
My other brother phoned me and said she is going to get her wishes - her bonds are staying in the 'drawer' as she wanted???
Have any of you heard of this request after a Will is written being put into action?
My other brother stayed with our mother for a few months to care for her. (These two brothers do not get on at all. I prefer not to get involved but both know I do not tell lies and want things done properly.)
My brother (who stayed with her) said our mother saw something on TV that said you can ask for your Premium Bonds to be kept in for a 1 year after your death. He reckons she wrote a letter and requested it. (I was her carer basically for 10 years getting extremely hard towards the end and that is why this brother came to help at my request. My mother NEVER said anything to me about this letter to National Savings. We were very close so it is confusing.)
There is nothing in her will about her bonds written 2 years earlier it states her savings to be divided and it is set out.
I have heard nothing from my brother, the executor, as yet about how anything has been settled. Not spoken to him since the funeral .... in fact a very difficult person to deal with.
My other brother phoned me and said she is going to get her wishes - her bonds are staying in the 'drawer' as she wanted???
Have any of you heard of this request after a Will is written being put into action?
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Comments
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The executor need to notify NS&I of your mothers death. They will be given the option to cash them in immediately or for them to be left in the draw for 12 months.
If he fails to tell them any winning cheques will still be in your mothers name so will not be able to be deposited. Just leaving them in a draw is not an option.0 -
Sorry to hear about your loss - it's never easy dealing with the aftermath when these things happen. I've seen my own family start to tear itself apart over a will before, so I've come to be a bit suspicious whenever someone tries to go against what is explicitly written down by the person who has passed away.
With respect to the bonds, I don't know enough about them to really comment on whether the situation you've described is actually able to be done, but to me it feels to me like your brother might be trying to pull a fast one (again I don't know your family, but I'm always suspicious in these situations). I'd be asking to see this letter your mother wrote, but I still wouldn't really trust it unless it was signed, dated and witnessed by someone else you or your mother trusts - she could've been coerced/under duress. Since the will clearly states that all cash/assets are to be divided equally, I would be pushing for that - sell the bonds and divide the cash. Worst case scenario you might need to force it to happen by contesting the will legally, but better that then having the money sitting under your brother's control "just for a year"...0 -
It is so upsetting when siblings cannot talk to each other...
I have two choices really -
1. Write to my executor brother and ask him if he has notified them of her death and what arrangements has he made for her bonds. (After all if anything happened to him I have to pick up the pieces.)
2. Do nothing and see if soon(?) he lets us know what has been arranged in accordance to her Will and her P/Bonds. (Mind you I still do not know when her ashes are coming back to the Churchyard as she wished.)
When you say if he hasn't notified them any cheques will not be able to be deposited - she did have it set up any winnings are re-invested. So would that be OK?0 -
PRAISETHESUN wrote: »Sorry to hear about your loss - it's never easy dealing with the aftermath when these things happen. I've seen my own family start to tear itself apart over a will before, so I've come to be a bit suspicious whenever someone tries to go against what is explicitly written down by the person who has passed away.
With respect to the bonds, I don't know enough about them to really comment on whether the situation you've described is actually able to be done, but to me it feels to me like your brother might be trying to pull a fast one (again I don't know your family, but I'm always suspicious in these situations). I'd be asking to see this letter your mother wrote, but I still wouldn't really trust it unless it was signed, dated and witnessed by someone else you or your mother trusts - she could've been coerced/under duress. Since the will clearly states that all cash/assets are to be divided equally, I would be pushing for that - sell the bonds and divide the cash. Worst case scenario you might need to force it to happen by contesting the will legally, but better that then having the money sitting under your brother's control "just for a year"...
Basically it is the brother who stayed with her reckons this was arranged - I don't trust what he says. In some ways I feel he has done this to feel that he and our mother did something together.
The Executor brother - she was so proud of - is a very difficult person of authority?! On many occasions whilst she was still alive I asked that the three of us siblings meet and have a chat about how she is coping, etc and at one stage how hard I was finding it. It never happened....... I could write loads more but thank you for your understanding.0 -
https://www.nsandi.com/system/files/asset/pdf/premium-bonds-brochure-print-friendly.pdf clarifies that continuing for 12 months is the default option, i.e. no need to request this as such:If a Premium Bonds holder dies, their Premium Bonds become part of their estate. The Premium Bonds will continue to take part in prize draws for 12 months following the date of death, unless they are cashed in before that.0
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Family is more important than money. Unless there is strong evidence to the contrary, I'd give the Executor brother the benefit of the doubt until the year runs out. In estate settling terms, a year is not a long time.0
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Quote: If a Premium Bonds holder dies, their Premium Bonds become part of their estate. The Premium Bonds will continue to take part in prize draws for 12 months following the date of death, unless they are cashed in before that.
1. The above information is so helpful. Basically if it is what she wanted it will be up to Executor brother to honor it.
2. The person I spoke to from National Savings was right in one sense my brother, the executor, must inform them she has died.
Note: If he hasn't informed them yet - I take it there will not be a problem - if she were to win because it means they can form part of her estate for 12 months because she has the arrangement for winnings to be re-invested i.e. a cheque isn't coming to her home.
Finally - I do agree - family is more important. I am just pleased as I said there was no property involved. What I have witnessed has not been nice over what should have been a very simple and amiable process for our lovely Mum.0 -
GillyFlower wrote: »Quote: If a Premium Bonds holder dies, their Premium Bonds become part of their estate. The Premium Bonds will continue to take part in prize draws for 12 months following the date of death, unless they are cashed in before that.
1. The above information is so helpful. Basically if it is what she wanted it will be up to Executor brother to honor it.
2. The person I spoke to from National Savings was right in one sense my brother, the executor, must inform them she has died.
Note: If he hasn't informed them yet - I take it there will not be a problem - if she were to win because it means they can form part of her estate for 12 months because she has the arrangement for winnings to be re-invested i.e. a cheque isn't coming to her home.
Finally - I do agree - family is more important. I am just pleased as I said there was no property involved. What I have witnessed has not been nice over what should have been a very simple and amiable process for our lovely Mum.
I am not 100% sure about this, but I think that the 'hold them for up to a year' option does not allow reinvestment of winnings . From memory, once NS&I have been informed of the death, they hang on to any winnings and then pay them out at the point the bonds are cashed.
Potentially, there is the risk that if NS&I are not informed and new bonds are purchased with the winnings, and the new bonds have a win themselves, NS&I MAY not honour the winnings. This is because the estate has no right to purchase any new bonds, just hold existing bonds.
As I say, I am a bit hazy on this, so it may be worth a call to NS&I to be 100% sure that you are not going to end up in a pickle!0 -
Without the family issues aspect we had something similar a little over a year ago.
Mother in Law had some Premium Bonds (and quite a few other NS&I products etc) Her entire estate went to my OH. The setting for my MIL's PBs was to reinvest any winnings. When we notified NS&I about the death we opted to leave the PBs in for the 12 months. I'm not certain if there were any winnings during the 12 months but a couple of days after the last draw that was within the 12 Months a cheque arrived payable to my OH as the executor of the estate.
In your case the value of the PBs are part of the estate and have to be distributed by the executor in line with the will. If the value is distributed now or at the end of 12 months makes no real difference other than you can't finish the executor process until you've dealt with all the estate.0 -
MichelleUK wrote: »I am not 100% sure about this, but I think that the 'hold them for up to a year' option does not allow reinvestment of winnings .
That's right -
"Any Bond bought by prize reinvestment after the
death of a holder, or the cancellation of the mandate,
but in ignorance of it, will be void - as will any prizes
won as a result of the reinvested prize."
https://www.nsandi.com/system/files/asset/pdf/premium-bonds-automatic-reinvestment-of-future-prizes-form.pdf0
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