To ask what happens re joint accounts when one party dies

[LakieLady]

My DP died very suddenly this morning.

My BIL has rather freaked me out by telling me that the joint a/c will be fozen. This will make things really a bit difficult, and I was under the impression that the other party just takes over the account and that there's no need for probate or anything.

DP has about £10k in savings in his own account, and I'm sure that's below the threshold for probate, but I don't know if I'll need letters of administration or anything.

Any advice much appreciated.

What a dreadful shock for you. I am so sorry. When my aunt died the ladies that had dealt with her account were wonderful. They took me slowly through everything and made sure when I left that I didn’t have any unanswered questions.

Do you have children because if they are school age I can recommend some bereavement counselling for them? I did some but needed to pass one girl on to someone with more experience. We made a little book with photos and tiny envelopes so she could write private messages. It really helped her. Barnardos have bereavement training if they are in your area. Children don’t always want to talk about the person at home because it makes the spouse upset.

So sorry for your loss. Any sole accounts will be fozeen until there is a Will saying whats what or Letters of Administration which are provided by the court when someone dies without a Will. If you are not married then things could be a little awkward in terms of who gets the monies held in sole accounts but you can pay for the persons funeral out of the estate before distribution. If there is a Will there will be an executor, if no Will the Court will appt an administrator which is likely to be a solicitor to ensure fair play particularly as you are not married and there are other family members. They will also have to be paid out of the estate before distribution.

Main thing is to not allow yourself to be bullied into things by others who think they know best. Move quickly to locate a will and inform banks etc of his death and whether there is an executor or not. You need to immediately apply for a death certificate which is a bit of a song and a dance at the moment and then that is there to send to people. We were only able to get 2 copies so it slows things down a bit. Use the bereavement services of places and keep a file and write everything down, especially if there is no will.

If there is a mortgage sort that first again if in both names depending if you are joint tenants or tenants in common different things will happen (joint is best as it then transfers to you no problem).

There is also a government service called tell us once which covers lots of things and the Registrar at the office for Death Certificates should be able to tell you about that.

Its important to choose a Funeral Directors and ensure that everything is selected for the funeral/cremation etc. Things are tricky at the moment and it takes longer to organise - we have waited just about a full month for a service and still I am left doing orders of service on my own on the Tue before the funeral on the Friday.

If we are talking about a small estate probate is not necessary if there is a will. Just pay the funeral directors from the bank as above (Honestly for a church service, coffin, flowers, organist/soloist and crem service we are talking 6 to 7k anyway).

Take some deep breaths make sure you and any children are safe, warm, together etc. Find some photos and also think about your service and hymns, readings etc. It all feels frantic when you want to weep and grieve and frankly BIL going on about stuff is crass and bombastic and the last thing you need

Hugs

I'm so sorry op

I’m really sorry for your loss OP.

Joint account passes to you by survivorship.

If you are not married and if your DP did not make a Will (intestacy)then his closest living relative (in order of priority) will inherit anything held in your DP’s sole name and if a Grant of Letters of Administration is required then it will be for them to apply as they will be legally entitled to do so. You can find some information about this here.

www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/media-centre/articles-jan-apr-2018/how-to-get-a-letter-of-administration/

You should consider taking legal advice as you may be entitled to make a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. There are very strict time limits to do this. See here

www.penningtonslaw.com/expertise/solicitors-for-individuals-private-client-and-tax/contentious-probate-and-trust-disputes/faqs-inheritance-act-claims

I am a fee earner in this area.

I am so terribly sorry OP and I’m sorry I can’t help with your question I just wanted to say I’m so, so sorry for your loss. xx

Sorry for your loss, what a terrible shock.

My dad never told the bank when my mum died, he just carried on using the joint account. I think he liked still having that link with her and it caused no problem. After he died, I had to take both death certificates into the bank to get the account closed.

There is no fixed timescale to sort out bank accounts, take time to grieve and deal with banking when you feel ready to do it

Oh @LakieLady I'm so sorry to hear that your DP has passed away, it must be a terrible shock.

Don't worry too much at the moment you don't need to do anything.

Here is a link to CAB about the process of registering the death and obtaining a certificate (order a few copies). Once you have it you can take it to the Bank and the account will be placed solely in your name.

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/death-and-wills/what-to-do-after-a-death/

@LakieLady 🖤

I'm so very sorry
My DM passed away suddenly two weeks ago and when I registered the death, the registrar informed me some banks no longer need an actual death certificate. Due to coronavirus they can check electronically.
It just seems even harder losing somebody during this pandemic, especially now we're going into another lockdown.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

When my mother was terminally ill she added me to her bank account this making it a joint account so there would be no problems in accessing the (small) funds held and paying her funeral bill. This was only a few years ago so hopefully things will not have changed too much since then.

I'm so sorry about your husband.
No, they won't freeze the account and you can carry on using it as usual. At some point you will be able to change the name of it.
When my dad died, (a widower) we didn't even have to freeze his bank accounts as we had power of attorney over them. We could use them for funeral expenses and so forth and it was useful to keep them open for refunds of various standing orders etc. Once probate was organised, we closed them at that point.

I'm so glad to hear things have changed. When my DF died in 1991 and we notified them of his death, Yorkshire Bank suspended my DPs joint account until probate was granted to my DM as my DF hadn't written a Will. I had to pay all of her bills for about 4 months until probate was granted. It was a hideous time as me and DH weren't earning very much. My DM couldn't access any of the money she was entitled to. We ended up having our phone cut off as we couldn't afford to pay the bill.

My advice is still to withdraw as much money as you can or transfer it to another account before you notify the bank that an account holder has died.

Sorry for your loss

When my father died my mother and I went to the bank with the death certificate, they made the account sole and went through direct debits and standing orders to see if any needed cancelling

They did not ask for probate or anything

My condolences, OP.

To echo everyone else, when my husband died, I called in at the bank with one of the death certificates, and a very kind assistant took me into a private room and explained that I could continue to use the account as normal, my DH's name would be taken off the account, and they'd get a new chequebook to me (it was eight years ago when we still used chequebooks sometimes!). They sorted out our linked savings accounts too.

In the same position as you op but in the past.

I didn’t hurry in telling the bank. There is so much other stuff to do that I figured it could just sit there and carry on functioning for a bit until I had the strength to deal with it.

(Why make my life any more administratively difficult at that time than it already was)

I did go online and cancel direct debits that were not needed straight away. For ages it seemed like lots of money going out and nothing coming in...

So sorry for your loss

When you have the time, I recommend the online support organisation called WAY (Widowed and Young) - great for all manner of practical advice as well as every sort of support

Sorry for your loss.

Did he have a will ? Do you have RL support ? If you are married you should be able to claim the bereavement allowance.

@Fleurchamp, yes, we have a house and are joint tenants so that's not a problem. We're in England. His son is next of kin, but I had completely forgotten that DP was holding his brother's share of what will be ultimately be their inheritance from their mum. It's £16k, so I doubt if the money in the bank will cover it. His son is loaded anyway, thanks to a trust fund he came into at 21, and a few grand is neither here nor there to him. There's a pittance in a local government pension scheme, he was in the job less than 2 years.

@OneRingToRuleThemAll, no, no will, despite much nagging on my part. We were going to do mirror wills.

@Gingernaut, yes I was pretty sure they would freeze his sole a/c. I'll try and see if they have a bereavement service today.

@DanielRicciardosSmile, I've no idea how long it takes to register a death these days. I don't even know if the coroner will want a post-mortem or whether he/she'll be happy to issue a part B; it has to be reported because it was sudden and unexpected.

I rather suspect that the bank won't do anything until I have a death certificate, in case I'm a vengeful ex causing trouble! And that could take days, he died in the hospital in Brighton, so I think I'll have to register it there. It would be much easier if it could be done at our local register office.

I did all this 10 years ago when my mother died, but she lived in the centre of her city so everything was close at hand. Well, I wasn't, I was 120 miles away, but you get my drift.

And in a previous life, I used to manage the registration service for the county!

No children, @Bowerbird5, his son from a previous relationship is 30 and I have none.

Yes, I have RL support. His sister and her DH have been fantastic, despite his poor sis being almost as devastated as me. His poor mum (81 and fit as a flea) is in bits. And his son, who didn't so much as text him for months on end, even when DP had called or texted him, seems to want me to support him and doesn't seem to get that I'm pretty much still in shock.

On a lighter note, my dog, who absolutely adored DP, usually sleeps on the floor on my side of the bed. Last night, she slept on his side. It was only when I let her out for a wee this morning that I realised she was sleeping on a pair of his dirty pants and joggers. I'd taken the t-shirt he was wearing yesterday to bed with me so I could smell him, and it seems like DDog might have done the same.

I really am grateful for all your advice and kindness.

When my father died, the joint account with my mum was sorted out quite easily too.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I've seen you post many times on various threads and topics and you always spoke of him with such love.

I'm so sorry for your loss

Oh @LakieLady, you poor love.

I’m so sorry for the shit you’re going through and the loss of your DH.

As you probably know, if the coroner isn’t involved then you don’t need a face to face appointment with the registrar at the moment.
You’ll be offered a phone appointment and then the green certificate will be emailed to the funeral director you’re using.

Sending you healing, peaceful thoughts and strength

Oh you poor thing, such sad news. Sending love and hugs your way. Funny how the dog understands stuff, they're not as daft as they look are they.

LakeLady
What a terrible shock for you. I’m so sorry for your loss. Whenever I read your posts posts, they are full of compassion. Your dp must know he was truly loved.

I am so sorry for your loss.
You need to make sure you get at least 10 death cerificates now.
All the bank requires is a death certificate. It should be very straightforward.

@LakieLady I'm very sorry.