AIBU to withdraw the cash?

[idontreallyknowmavis]

MIL has sadly passed away unexpectedly. There is a total amount of approximately £7k in her bank account, £2k of which belongs to her disabled son who lives in a residential home. He could really use the other £5k too tbh. She didn’t have a will.
The bank are not yet aware, Goodness knows how long probate will take, although there’s no property involved. Should I just wait and hope that it doesn’t all get taxed and or take too long before DH’s brother can access it?

Will money not be required for funeral costs? And is it a joint account?

Definitely wait. I think it's illegal to withdraw the cash. Might be wrong, maybe worth checking in the legal section.

So MIL has 3 children, one who is disabled in a residential home and 1 DH's brother? And youre worried your BIL will take the money which MIL would have wanted to go to the disabled son?

My thinking would be that any withdrawal from a bank account after someone is deceased (and death certificate can confirm) can surely be classed as not being done by the account holder and could be subject to some kind of criminal activity? Unless there is a Power of Attorney?

Does BIL have bank account access? Contact the bank and let them know to freeze the account?

Don’t withdraw the money. That would be fraudulent I think.

Do tell the bank she’s passed away - especially if you’re worried someone else will take it.

In what way is it DBIL’s money - I mean is it something you can explain to the bank?

That will be eaten up in funeral costs and solicitors fees (unless you’re doing probate yourself?)

The £2k that doesn’t belong to her needs to be evidenced and ringfenced ASAP else it could end up being used for costs.

None of it will be taxed though, not sure what you’re getting at with that part?

There are laws about what happens to the estate when someone dies without a will. These will vary depending on where you are, but you must follow them.

Assuming you're in England, without a will there is no probate - there's a different process to follow to administer the estate. Check the .gov.uk info.

If there's no property and not much else other than the £7k, there won't be any inheritance tax to pay, you're way off that. You also won't need a solicitor to apply for probate. It's very easy to do yourself and that will speed things up.

Only withdraw the money if you are happy to deal with the criminal charges that will come afterwards.

No, that would be theft. It’s not your money.

Does MIL have any debts, and is there a funeral to pay for? If so, these need to be covered first.

Then you need to look at the intestacy process. It sounds like any remaining money would be divided between two or three brothers. The ones not in the residential home could decide to give their brother the money, but that’s their choice not yours.

Unless there’s masses of other assets there won’t be any tax to pay.

The only way you'd be able to withdraw the cash is by "pretending" to be the deceased, which is fraud/theft. You need to tell the bank and they will freeze the bank account(s). The only costs that can be paid out of it until probate will be funeral costs. Once you get probate, the bank will release the funds and then they will need to be distributed according to intestacy laws, once debts have been paid, such as the loan.

If that's the total amount of money and she died intestate, I'd double check if you even need probate? I didn't when DF died. It might be a lot more straightforward than you think to settle this all properly with the bank, but it also might get flagged as fraud if you just do a withdrawal now and then they get the death cert later that shows the money was withdrawn after she died.

I don’t think that’s what op means. The bil is disabled and it’s him they are talking about when they mention access to the money not another brother

Thanks for clarifying, I wasn't sure if I had misunderstood

Is it a joint account with her son or was she his appointee?

Or another set up?

This

If its your MIL why dont your husband deal with it, its not your mum or your place to take money.

No, you can’t go around withdrawing money from accounts that don’t belong to you. That’s theft.

What evidence do you have that£2k belongs to disabled brother? Have that readily available to ring fence it.

If FIL has died it will most likely be a 3 way split between the children.

Depending on what other assets mil had, you might not need probate. The bank might release the money with the death certificate and a signed closure form.

Don't start withdrawing money yourself after the date of death.