Bereavement & Savings

Closing the account: Documents you will need

There are some additional documents we’ll need to close an account. These depend on how much money is held in the name of the person who has passed away. Please select an option below to see what is needed and where it can be obtained:

Please take care to ensure that the closure forms are signed by all Personal Representatives/Executors and that relevant documentation is certified correctly.

£5000 or less

Documentation Required	Where obtained	Comments
1. Completed Authority to close form (if you know the account balance) 2. Identification for all executors (click here for acceptable forms of Identification)	The Authority to close form can be obtained from our Bereavement Team or downloaded here (89 KB) .	This form should be completed by the next of kin or the executors if the deceased left a will.

.

£5000.01 to £30,000.00

Documentation Required	Where obtained	Comments
1. Completed Authority to close form (if you know the account balance) 2. Identification for all executors (click here for acceptable forms of Identification)	An Authority to close form can be obtained from our Bereavement Team or downloaded here (89 KB) .	The signing of this form must be witnessed by a Solicitor, Commissioner for Oaths, Justice of the Peace or Authorised County Court Official. You may need to pay for this service – ask the witness for their tariff of charges.

.

£30,000.01 and above

Documentation Required	Where obtained	Comments
1. The original Grant of Representation Document ( Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration 2. Identification for all executors (click here for acceptable forms of Identification)	The Authority to Close Form can be obtained from our Bereavement Team or downloaded here (89 KB) . Grant of Representation Document can be obtained from The Probate Registry.	The next of kin can apply to the Probate Registry to obtain the grant. If you need any help obtaining a Grant of Representation (Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration) then you can contact the Probate Registry on 0300 123 1072. Alternatively you can pay a legal advisor to do this for you.

As soon as we have the correct documents we will then send you a cheque or transfer funds to the nominated account(s) as requested and close the account.

Type of account

If you are a joint account holder or have a bond you may not wish to close the account. Please click the relevant type below for more information:

Joint Account

When we’re notified of the passing of a joint account holder, the account is transferred into the sole name of the other account holder. Regular payments (such as Direct Debits and standing orders) will not be changed unless the other account holder asks us to. You may wish to review these and check whether they need to continue.

.

Sole accounts

Sole accounts held by the person who has died will be frozen (excluding any interest earned) until the balance can be settled. This means that money cannot be paid into or taken out of the account, other than limited withdrawals for urgent expenses. Our Bereavement Team will be able to give you further information on this so call them on 01242 874 901.

Regular payments such as Direct Debits and standing orders will be cancelled. You may need to contact the relevant organisations to arrange payments.

.

ISA Accounts

Where the date of death is:

• On or before 5 April 2018, interest arising after that date will become taxable in the hands of the estate.
• On or after 6 April 2018, any ISA held will be designated a 'continuing account of a deceased investor'.

An account will remain a continuing account of a deceased investor until the earlier of:

• The completion of the administration of the deceased's estate
• The closure of the account
• The third anniversary of the death of the ISA account holder

If you’re the spouse or civil partner of the account holder

Spouses including civil partners can inherit their loved one’s ISA allowance due to the launch of Additional Permitted Subscription (APS1) by the HMRC on 6 April 2015 providing the deceased investor and the surviving spouse were living together as at the date of death.

If your spouse/civil partner had an ISA and passed away between 3 December 2014 and 5 April 2018, you can increase your ISA allowance under the APS scheme. The size of this extra allowance is equal to what your partner had in their ISA when they died. Even if your spouse/civil partner left the funds in their ISA to someone else, you will still inherit the ISA allowance they have built up over the years. This will transfer to you as an APS allowance and could help your money go further by increasing the amount of interest you can earn tax free.

Your allowance (APS1) will be the value of your spouse/civil partners ISA’s when they passed away, which includes any interest earned up to the date of death.

In addition, from 6 April 2018, where the ISA investor dies on or after the 6 April 2018, any ISA(s) held can remain tax-free in a continuing account of a deceased investor (APS2).

The ‘continuing account of a deceased investor’ will cease on whichever is the earliest of the following:-

• Administration of the deceased’s estate is complete
• The ISA is closed
• 3 years after the date of death

The APS 2 allowance is

• the higher of the value of the ISA(s) at the date of death
• or the value of the ISA(s) at the date the ISA(s) cease(s)to be a continuing account of a deceased investor

Please read the leaflet  Obtaining additional ISA allowances following the death of your spouse or civil partner  or view our Additional Permitted Subscriptions (APS) FAQ's   for more information.  If you would like to discuss any aspects of the APS allowance with a member of the Society you can contact our Bereavement team on 01274 705 941 Monday – Friday 8am – 6pm or Saturday 9am -1pm.

.

Bonds

You have the option to keep them open until they mature or otherwise they will be closed. Please let us know what you’d like to do by contacting the Bereavement Team.

Dealing with the estate

The person responsible for handling the deceased’s estate is normally named in the will (and is called an Executor). They’ll need to sort out the estate and ensure that the deceased’s wishes are followed. If there’s no will an Administrator will be appointed instead.

It’s normally a very daunting task at the most difficult of times and we aim to make this as simple as possible for you, by providing the instructions for specific accounts/scenarios in the section above. You can also call our Bereavement Team on 01274 705941.

Payments from the estate

Funds held in the estate will be frozen (excluding any interest earned) however certain payments can be made from the customer’s account including:

• Certain funeral expenses (this must be original or certified copy on letter headed paper). Please contact us if you require any clarification on this
• Inheritance tax payments
• Probate court fees.

Please note, cheques issued will be made payable to the appropriate third party such as a funeral director. For inheritance tax, please confirm the Inheritance Tax number (which will be given to you by HM Revenue & Customs) so that we can make sure it is quoted on the payment.

Frequently asked Questions