Bereavement FAQs

Once we are informed of a customer’s death, all credit cards held in the name of the deceased will be cancelled. Any outstanding debit balances will be cleared or part cleared from any money held in account(s) in the sole name of the deceased person. Any outstanding balance will need to be settled from the Estate* of the deceased. If the credit card was a joint credit card, the survivor(s) is liable for any outstanding balance.

* Estate - All assets belonging to the deceased at the time of his/her death.

It is important that we are informed of the death of a mortgage holder as early as possible. The mortgage will need to continue to be paid until it can be cleared from a life assurance policy, for example, if one was taken out in conjunction with the mortgage. Interest will continue to be added to the mortgage account until the balance is cleared in full. If at any stage you feel you are unable to meet your regular mortgage repayments, contact your local branch and they will discuss the options available to you. 

Alternatively, you or the representatives of the deceased’s Estate*, such as a solicitor, can apply to postpone mortgage repayments for an initial period of 6 months.^ This will allow time for the life assurance claim to be finalised (if one is available) and for the outstanding balance to be cleared. If there is no life assurance policy in place, then the mortgage repayments must continue to be made until the mortgage is repaid in full.

^ Please contact the Mortgage Business Team who will advise you. This will be at the Bank’s discretion. 

* Estate - All assets belonging to the deceased at the time of his/her death.

Once we are notified of a person’s death their account(s) are frozen and all direct debits and standing orders will be stopped (only if it’s a sole account). If there are utility bills or other payments that you wish to continue, you will need to contact the relevant standing order and/or direct debit originators.

For any personal loans held by the deceased (sole or joint), interest will continue to be added to the loan account until the balance is cleared in full. To reduce the amount of interest added to the loan account balance,  we will utilise any credit funds in sole account(s) held by the deceased to clear (or part clear) any loan(s) held in their sole name. 

It is normal practice for a final statement to be sent following the closure of the deceased’s bank accounts. However, if you receive any mail in the deceased’s name following this, please contact your branch immediately, to avoid any unnecessary distress. 

We will check our records to determine if safekeeping is held in the deceased’s name. If we discover any item(s) in safekeeping, we will inform you of this in writing, any contents in safekeeping held in the name of the deceased can only be released to the personal representative named in the Grant of Representation*. If a deceased customer’s Will* cannot be found, and the relatives believe that it may be lodged for safekeeping with us, the principal Next-of-Kin* may inspect the contents of any box or parcel held in safekeeping in the presence of a Bank Official. Evidence must be produced to prove authenticity of Next-of-Kin* (e.g. birth certificate of Next of Kin, certified copy of death certificate, marriage certificate). A solicitor acting for the deceased’s Estate* can act in this regard provided written authority has been given from the principal Next of Kin*. (e.g. deceased’s surviving spouse).

 * Safekeeping is where we have been asked by customers to keep items securely but we do not know the contents of the safe keeping package. 

*Grant of Representation - A generic term and can refer to any of the following types of grants which would be issued by the High Court e.g. a grant of probate, a grant of letters of administration intestate, etc. There are other grants but probate and letters of administration are the most common.

*Will - A document where a person outlines their wishes for the distribution of his/her assets after their death

*Next of Kin - In the context of this document, a person’s closest living relative or relatives, who is/ are entitled to administer the Estate of the deceased in accordance with the intestacy laws of the relevant legal jurisdiction.

*Estate - All assets belonging to the deceased at the time of his/her death.

If the deceased customer passed away before the 6th April 2018, any ISA held in the name of the deceased will cease to be an ISA Account and will be subject, from the date of death, to the tax legislation at that time.

If the deceased customer passed away on or after the 6th April 2018, their ISA account will become a “Continuing Account of a Deceased Investor” (a Continuing ISA). This means that interest earned on the account from the date of death will be exempt from tax. The account will remain as a Continuing ISA until the earlier of the following-

•  The completion of the administration of the deceased’s estate
• The Closure of the account
• The 3rd anniversary of the death of the investor

If the account has not been closed or the administration of the estate has not been completed by the 3rd anniversary of the date of death, we will close down your account and will transfer the balance and any interest earned during the 3 years to the Select deposit product or nearest equivalent deposit product, if the Select deposit product is no longer available. Any interest earned after that date will become taxable in the hands of the estate. The money in the account will be released in the same way as other sole accounts.

The surviving spouse is entitled to an additional permitted subscription allowance, in addition to their own annual allowance

If the date of death is before the 6th April 2018, this is limited to the value of the deceased investor’s ISA at their date of death and must be used within 3 years.

If the date of death is on or after the 6th April 2018, the surviving spouse may choose either the value of the account balance at the date of death OR the value of the account balance when the account is closed or when it stops being a Continuing ISA – whichever value is higher. This might occur where funds have been paid out of the ISA for expenses, the additional permitted subscription value can be used as of the date of death which might be higher than when the account stopped being a Continuing ISA.

If you wish to avail of this allowance, you will need to complete an Additional Permitted Subscription declaration which is available from your nearest branch.