Bank and probate.

[anobium]

My wife is the executor of her late brothers estate. Everything including probate has been granted but she cannot get her late brothers bank to release his monies to her account so she can pay the beneficiaries. It should take around 10 days but despite numerous calls they keep pushing it back 5 days. It will be 20 days on Monday when they were first given the probate docs They don't explain why but admit all the paperwork is fine. Question as she is now the legal owner of that money, can she just go to the local branch and draw the money out?

 

[Notch7]

with my Dad it was possible to get money out to pay funeral expenses etc before probate had been finalised

but since the bank in your case have everything, they should transfer.


I doubt it can be withdrawn as banks tend to freeze accounts once a death has been notified.

 

[anobium]

Yes I understand the closing of an account, but in this case probate has been granted. After that legally the money belongs to the executors of the estate. They RBS keep saying they don’t now why its not been released. Is that legal?

 

[bernardgreen]

NatWest Group​
Ms Alison Rose	CEO
Email	[email protected]

 

[anobium]

What are you trying to say Bernard, there is nothing apart from a mention of the last CEO of RBS

 

[ETAF]

they would have closed the account, or setup an executer account, and then transfer the money to the new executer account.
What have they done
If its still in your brothers name , then you wont be able to withdraw just by going in branch - but that face to face my speed things up
Although my experience with Santander has been awful, and going into branch achived nothing, until i raised a formal complaint, the branch just refused to deal with and sent me off to the call centre to make an appointment.......

Natwest have been very easy to deal with , when my mother died in March , and sorted everything out very quickly.

I spoke to the Bereavement team and NOT the general banking system
And had a reference number for the Bereavement

Speak to them again and ask specifically for them to raise a formal complaint, then say on the call what you expect to happen, and a timeframe to resolve , as the call should be recorded , otherwise you will raise with the financial ombudsman

How to complain

Find out how to bring your complaint to us, and how we can help.

www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk

OR
you can raise a complaint online using a form for the bank

Is it RBS / Natwest ?

Do you have a record of the calls date/time and who you spoke to ?

 

[charliegolf]

Question as she is now the legal owner of that money, can she just go to the local branch and draw the money out?

No, she is not the owner (unless she is the sole beneficiary), she is the 'person-in-charge' of the deceased's estate. I have done this twice, and had no such problems, so am at a loss. Most banks have a 'bereavement section', have you got to them yet; or are you stuck at a jobsworth? Try that. Also, have you set up a separate executor's account? That might move them?

Hat tip to ETAF, who mentioned the bereavement team- I skimmed past. My latest one was HSBC who were great.

 

[anobium]

Its the Royal Bank of Scotland. Why should a Bank be allowed to hold on somebody's money when all the legal steps have been followed, and the bank accepts this. Surely this is theft, if I was overdrawn they would be quick enough to recoup their money.
Long shot I wonder if the police would be interested.

 

[anobium]

Charlie it is the bereavment section she's been dealing with and they have given 4 dates when the transfer should have taken place. Each time they refuse to give a reason for the delay, they won't let her speak to their manager, and they won't even speak to the local branch. Just for the record as my wife accepted the 2nd transfer date she sent cheques to the beneficiaries for their share of the estate. Some of these have been paid in and the money has been taken from her account. She managed to stop a few but been unable to contact everybody. She is in danger of becoming overdrawn

 

[bernardgreen]

What are you trying to say Bernard,

Very often an e-mai to the CEO of an organisation get results when the normal channels have not be effective.

Most times the CEO's assistant will be tasked to put pressure on the lower ranks to sort the matter out.

 

[anobium]

Yes Bernard I did email her but she no longer works there, she sent me another email address. [email protected]
No response not even one of those automatic replys

 

[ETAF]

As suggested now is the time to make the complaint , either online or formally with the bereavement team

Complaints Contacts | Royal Bank of Scotland

A helpful list of contact information you might need for any complaints with Royal Bank of Scotland.

www.rbs.co.uk

Why the rush to payout the beneficiaries , I waited until the funds had cleared into the account , before making out any payments at all .

Do you bank with RBS and is that the account that will be overdrawn

RBS was different to Natwest , they did take over natwest , although they have renamed RBS to Natwest in 2020

What to do when someone dies | Bereavement Guide | Royal Bank of Scotland

Find out how to let us and other banks know about a bereavement. We also provide a bereavement checklist and support with estate administration.

www.rbs.co.uk

If our customer only banked with Royal Bank of Scotland, the quickest and easiest way to let us know is via our online portal. If you'd prefer, you can call us on 0800 161 5904 to let us know about a death.

If you need to make a complaint relating to a personal account you have with us, here’s how to contact us:

Phone​

Personal Customers (24 hours)​

UK: 03457 24 24 24

I also linked to the financial ombudsman

 

[anobium]

There is no rush, and my wife took RBS at there word, indeed she allowed 2 weeks beyond the first date she was given before sending out cheques. No, she does not bank with RBS thank god. If this is how the act in the bereavement section I shudder to to think how they deal with other customer.
I checked on trust pilot and this seems to be par for course with RBS.

 

[ETAF]

so time to complain formally

Natwest s mentioned were brilliant, however santander was useless and actually

Also ask for compensation for the issue , delays and cheque bouncing
I did the same with a bank and did get compensation when they caused a problem following a bereavement , specifically i was given misinformation
I did have the call , time of calls and names of people who misinformed
So if not already keep a record of who, when , time etc

 

[securespark]

RBS are utterly useless.

I had a mortgage with them in the 90s. Due to my splitting up, I was forced to default.

There followed years of argument with them. They wanted me to continue paying but refused to chase my other half for any payment.

Their contract stated that if payments ceased, repossession proceedings would take place, as no party would be allowed to live in the dwelling under these circumstances.

Their refusal to repossess meant it only sold 6 and a half years later, for £10.5K.

I made an agreement with them that, in exchange for my savings, I would be released from the agreement owing nothing. The alternative was bankruptcy on my part and they would get nothing.

They sent me a letter agreeing I owed nothing.

Take note of Duncan's last sentence.

I later had a debt collection agency chase me VERY aggressively for the balance on the mortgage, some 40-odd thousand.

I told them I had written proof I owed nothing and if they didn't leave me alone, I would set my solicitor (the same one who hammered out the get-out deal in the first place) onto them and chase them for the costs.

They soon scuttled off.

But I later discovered it was RBS who requested the debt be chased in the first place. Pure incompetence....