| What’s the first thing that I need to do when someone dies? | The first thing you need to do is register the death at a registration office. There are registration offices in towns and cities across the UK. Deaths need to be registered within eight days.
You will be given a death certificate by the registration office. It may be worth getting a few certified copies of the certificate, as various institutions will need one as you sort out the deceased’s affairs. |
| Who do I need to tell at Ecology when a customer dies? | If you call either our savings or mortgage member services teams, they will help you. The contact details are:
Phone: 01535 650 770
Email: [email protected] or [email protected] |
| How do I let you know who is dealing with the deceased’s estate? | You can either call or email us with the details of the personal representative, executor, administrator or solicitor who is dealing with the death. We will need to know their name, address, and contact details and in what capacity they are dealing with the deceased’s estate. If they are a solicitor, we will need to know the company they work for, their job title, address and contact details. |
| What documents do I need to send to the Society to register the death? | To register the death of the account holder we will need to receive:
• The original death certificate or original coroner's interim certificate
• Full contact details for the informant / executor
• Two pieces of identification for the informant / executor from the Savings ID Requirements document.
If you prefer, you can supply solicitor certified copies of any of the above documents.
If the personal representative of the deceased’s estate doesn’t want to send their identification documents to us, or they do not have two forms of identification, they will need to give us permission to run an electronic identity search. They can give us permission using this form. Fill it out and send it back to us at either [email protected] or [email protected].
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| How quickly do I need to tell the Society that someone has died? | We understand that there is a lot to do and you may not feel like tackling everything straight away, but the sooner you let us know the better. We will then freeze the account, meaning it will still earn interest but payments in or withdrawals out cannot be made. We will then wait for you to get the formal documentation to us once you are ready. |
| Once I’ve registered the death with you, do I need to do anything else to close the account? | Accounts only in the deceased’s name:
Once you have told us of the death, we will freeze the account. It will still earn interest but payments in or withdrawals out cannot be made.
We will then send you or the personal representative the information, figures and forms for closing the account which will need to be signed by all executors.
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| Can I keep a joint account open if the other holder is deceased? | Joint Accounts
If the account is in joint names with you, you can still use the account but need to send us a copy of the original or certified death certificate.
Once we have the death certificate we will update our records and remove the deceased’s name from the account.
Once the account is in your name only, you can close it if you want to.
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| Does it matter how much money the deceased had saved with Ecology Building Society? | If the combined savings balances held with Ecology are above £15,000, we will also need either:
• The original grant of probate, or solicitor certified copy;
or
• The original letters of administration, or a solicitor certified copy
If the combined balances are below £15,000, then you need to follow the standard process for closing an account. We will provide you with a statutory declaration to sign.
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| What is a statutory declaration? | A statutory declaration must be signed in front of a solicitor and confirms that you are entitled to the funds. It usually costs in the region of £10 - £20. Any solicitor can complete this for you. |
| How long will the process take? | Once we have received all the required documents, it usually takes 14 days to get all the paperwork completed to close the account. We would aim to release the payment for the funds to a UK bank account within 14 days. |
| What if I need the money from the savings account for the funeral expenses? | We can withdraw money from the account to pay for funeral expenses and Inheritance Tax. We will need an invoice from the funeral directors to pay for the funeral costs. The payment will be made directly to them.
If you need to pay an Inheritance Tax bill, we will need a completed HMRC form IHT423.
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| Do I need to do everything through a solicitor? | No, if you are the deceased’s spouse, civil partner, child or executor you can manage the administration of the estate and will. |
| Who can the funds be paid to? | You must name the executor or solicitor who you want to receive the funds, on the account withdrawal form which we send to you. All funds must be paid to a UK bank account in the name of the executor or solicitor. It is then their responsibility to distribute the funds. |
| What happens if the deceased had an ISA? | An ISA stays tax free until:
• The deceased’s estate is completed
• The account is closed
• The third anniversary of the account holder's death
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| What is a Spousal ISA (Additional Permitted Subscription)? | If the deceased is your spouse or civil partner you can inherit an additional ISA allowance under the Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) allowance. The APS doesn’t count towards any current year ISA subscriptions that you have.
The APS has to be done within three years of the date of the death or 180 days after the administration of the estate is complete (if this is later). Please note, we currently cannot accept Additional Permitted Subscriptions into an Ecology ISA account.
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| What happens once I’ve told Ecology about the death? | We will make the process as easy as possible for you. Once you have told us of the death, we will freeze the account. This means there will be no payments in or withdrawals out of the account (although interest will still be earnt). We’ll let you know what documents we need and aim to sort everything out as quickly as possible. We will tell you how long we expect the process to take, what to expect and when, and what you will need for the next steps. |
| What if I find an account after the estate has been sorted out? | Let us know and we will advise what documentation we need. You can then advise who you want the funds to be paid to. |
