Paying out money on a Death Certificate.

[Marciau]

My friend asked me to go for a breakfast with her in a local cafe yesterday.
Her mother has just passed away.
She had the death certificate and she will soon be applying for probate.
I said to her that I think she should visit her mothers bank and other financial institutions to stop the accounts and I went with her as she is not familiar with the city.
We were astonished that 4 of the institutions gave her cheques amounting to £ 30,000 in total just against the death certificates and her driving licence.
We are visiting some more today but I was thinking there must be a hgh risk of fraud.

Marcia

[rockyracoon]

Wow, what if she wasn't to inherit anything.

[hc4361]

The only possibility is that your friend is a joint account holder.

[ubasses]

Too many Bank staff these days not trained properly, if they did not even get an indemnity fom her they could be in for losses if someone else (ie sibling or spouse) makes a claim on that money. They should always ask for the size of the Estate and wait for Probate unless it is very small.

[Barmaid]

I am, frankly amazed, that the ONLY evidence required was a death certificate. Certain institutions will pay out without a Grant of Representation on receipt of a copy Will and indemnity under the Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965. Here, there is a huge risk of fraud - unless as HC says they were joint accounts - even then the matter is not clear cut.

Indeed, the probate industry is the largest unregulated financial industry in this country and ripe for fraud.

[Prudie]

I find this very very hard to believe, are we talking in the UK?

[petal54]

though at times can have probs getting ones own money

[LoftyLottie]

This is very possible. I think most institutions, ie. Banks and Building societies will pay to the next of kin up to a maximum amount. And if your friend's mother held monies in several banks, etc. then they could easily amount to £30,000. However, in my case I had to have some sort of form from my solicitor than I was who I said I was.

i.e. As Barmaid said, it wasn't only a death cert. I had to produce - I can't remember what the form was that a solicitor had to sign - I got it from the bank concerned.

[hc4361]

Possession of death certificate does not prove next of kin, though.

[LoftyLottie]

I know. But the possession of the form from a solicitor proved I was my mum's daughter and that was good enough for the bank concerned!

[Marciau]

Just come in from visiting other financial institutions.
My friend has got another £26,000 of her mothers money and has put a stop on the rest of her mother's accounts.
A life assurance company has said send in a copy of the death certificate and they can pay out £5,000 but I inderstand my friend is the beneficiary under that policy.
My friend is going out to invest the money tomorrow.

Marcia

[factor-fiction]

I agree, Prudie.

[SMP]

When my Mum died without a will, the bank closed her accounts with just the death certificate but would only pay the money due to the undertaker for the funeral costs. Mum had some insurances which only paid out with the death certificate and a grant of probate letter.

[hc4361]

That's the norm, SMP

[Buenchico]

I'd concerned (if I could 'look down from upon high'!) if any of my family could obtain access to my estate simply by proving that I was dead and that they were my 'next of kin'. My will doesn't leave a single penny to any of my family!

As an example of the opposite way that things can happen though, I'll tell you about my attempt to get probate on my father's estate. The probate form required me to seek an assessment of his tax liabilities from HMRC, so I visited the local HMRC enquiry office, armed with a copy of his death certificate and his will (which named me as the sole executor and sole beneficiary). I was told that I couldn't have the information until I'd got probate (which I couldn't get until I'd got the information from HMRC!).

Chris

[tamborine]

I found the banks would only release funds for the funeral, until after probate.

[Mamyalynne]

Apologise if the seems rude, but does not ring true to me under UK regulations.

[factor-fiction]

There are many important topics on AB relating to death/inheritance/house ownership/women in aerobics classes/pension scheme rules etc and I can't decide whether what seem to be several dozen threads, often far fetched in my opinion, from one poster under so many different names are actually useful and welcome in that they raise issues that may be helpful to others or whether they distract attention away from genuine queries.

[chrissa1]

I thought the OP's question was a bit suss too. When my FIL died, we couldn't even get a box of documents that he'd lodged with the bank, without a letter of Probate + a letter from his solicitor.

Ditto with financial institutions in the Channel Islands.

[LoftyLottie]

Well, all I can say is that I was able to get the money from my mother's bank because it was under £15,000. That was before probate and with a relevant signed form from my solicitor. At the time the executor named on her will had retired and was abroad. Eventually he relinquished his executorship and I had to apply for letters of administration. I did declare what I had received from the bank for probate reasons at a later stage.

However, I did have Power of Attorney before her death - if that made any difference.

And I am genuine, I promise you all ;o)

[hc4361]

Lottie, Power of Attorney makes ALL the difference.