Accessing bank account after death

[Forestdweller11]

We have LPA in place for parent and have done for a lot of years.

But now they are getting a bit stressed about how we (me and siblings) will pay for funeral etc on death as LPA stops then.

They thought that they could just add one of the DC to the bank account and create a joint account. Until I pointed out that if my sibling died before they did then 50% of the money in the account would form part of their estate.

The point of the joint account would be so that we could have access to pay 'incidentals' and funeral costs etc. So there would be money in it. Not a massive amount but still they don't like the thought of non family/beneficiaries getting it. To be fair we wouldn't have a problem paying for funeral etc if we couldn't access their funds but I think they want things to be straight.

I don't think they would like one of those insurance plans, but really that's all I can think of. Their estate will be straightforward and under IHT limit.

Any thoughts?

The funeral expenses can be paid directly by the bank - just send in the invoices. Funeral directors are used to this. Its really not a problem.

The executor or probate adminstrator takes the death certificate and proof letter of administration to the bank.

www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/legal-issues/power-of-attorney/

Yep this. Speak to the bank now to ask what would happen/what you’d need to send in to put your mind at rest.

Is there a will? With you/ your sibling as executors? I had bank accounts offering to pay funeral costs etc. And funeral directors didn’t bill until I requested an invoice. Nursing home fees don’t get released so easily but they’re happy to wait until probate is granted.

Yes, as PP have said, the bank will pay funeral directors directly

There is a limit on how much the funeral can cost. Speak with your bank or building society prior to booking anything officially to get the figure that they cover up to.

But yes, the bank will pay the cost from the selected account.

With my dad, I had been doing his online banking for him (with him sat next to me giving instructions) for some time due to covid. He was in his 90's and never confident on his iPad. After he died I paid the funeral expenses from his account before we went to the banks with his death certificate and closed it. He was of completely sound mind right up to when he died, he also died quickly - 12 days from diagnosis to death. There would not have been time anyway to activate the POA at the banks. That was 18 months ago, probates been granted and nobody in authority at any point has been critical of my actions. of course they were the only payments I made after his death - funeral director and reception venue.

I'm a funeral arranger and we regularly work with banks to pay the funeral invoice. Providing there are sufficient funds in the account the bank will pay out on a FDs invoice.

Alternatively you could get your parent to take out a funeral plan. They can make all their choices up front, pay the FD fees and contribute towards the third party fees (doctors fee, crematorium, officiant). It generally works out cheaper to pay up front as the funeral director's fee will be guaranteed and will not rise (the third party fees may increase with inflation).

A funeral plan is a terrible idea.
Better to help them open an online savings account where you have all the details so can transfer the money when they are in their final weeks/days.

When my parents died, there was a specific form that the bank provided that allowed them to pay for funeral expenses before probate, very straightforward to do.

Thanks everyone. Parent is not keen on a prepayment plan, but does see sense in sorting out funeral arrangements etc. Parent is also reassured that bank will pay funeral company and if it's proving tricky then me or siblings will pay and then get reimbursed out of estate. So hopefully all resolved!

Right or wrong we didn’t tell the bank for months that my dad had died paid everything out of there by card so there was a record of where the money went

don’t know who police’s this and if it did go to court it was a receipted for his funeral

Tbh when my mum was in hospital clearly dying she gave my sibling her bank card & PIN so that money could be taken out in cash before she actually died. Never questioned by the bank that large sums of money were withdrawn every day in the week or so leading up to my Mums death so I imagine it must be fairly normal, where families trust one another to spend it on the right things like funeral arrangements, paying for the venue etc

@rwalker definitely wrong! You should have notified the bank immediately.

But as others have already said, banks will authorise the payment of funeral expenses paid to undertakers.

@Forestdweller11 there will probably be some expenses that the bank will not authorise eg wake and any funeral expenses not paid to undertakers. For example, when my parents died we organised flowers separately and had to pay for them ourselves. We then repaid ourselves once probate had been granted.

This is really not a problem to be concerned about at all. Funeral directors are well used to money being released from someone's estate to cover their costs, and banks liaise with solicitors and executors to release funds as necessary.

We have recently done that very thing with late MIL's estate and funeral costs.

Another person who found it easy to deal with the bank to pay not only the funeral directors but also the crematorium, the florist and the food & drink venue after. The account also remained open for me to pay into, although I could only withdraw funds for expenses by the bank paying directly. I hope that's some reassurance in stressful and sad times.

Yes wrong but they freeze the bank meaning all my mums household bills wouldn’t be paid and all DD bounce

the last thing u want to be doing in the days straight after parents death is spending hours on the phone to gas/electric/sky setting up new DD when you need to be organising a funeral

My Mum kept £1k in an envelope with copy of her will to pay for incidental expenses. I know putting death notices in 2 local papers and travelling 200 miles to tell her sister who was 89 as Mum did not want her told on the phone. My sister went and stayed overnight to make sure our Aunt was ok before coming back. Bank paid out for funeral invoice. Enough money to pay for buffet meal after burial for all who attended.

I did banks without probate as there was less than £50k in the bank, they asked me if I was the executor - which I was and it was all done online and phone. I photographed death certificate and emailed it to the person I was speaking to. So as long as you have death certificate, you’d be ok and if less than £50k cash in account with many banks

it helped I had an account with the same bank - as it was all transferred over within 24 hrs

Never questioned by the bank that large sums of money were withdrawn every day

my dad wrote me a few cheques and asked me to put them in my account, it was during covid so I used banking app for cheques

tbe bank rang him after the 3rd cheque was deposited to ensure it was legit - fair play to the bank for checking regardless that we had the same name