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1. Why won’t banks list the documents that you need on a website?
2. Why can’t you submit at least some of the documents to the bank online or by email?
I’m trying to close a bank account for a deceased relative.
A. There’s no list of required documentation online.
B. To find out what documents are needed to close the account, you have to visit a branch.
C. At the branch, after you wait, when you meet with a banker, bankers can require different documents. So if you meet a banker on Monday, she’ll tell you the documents you need, but when you speak with another banker when you come bank on Tuesday, he’ll require other documents. Even after the first banker wrote them down. Or even if it’s the same banker, the banker can tel you different things.
The process requires visit after visit and frustration. Yes, banks don’t want accounts closed but the process just wastes their time, too.
1. Why won’t banks list the documents that you need on a website?
2. Why can’t you submit at least some of the documents to the bank online or by email?
I’m trying to close a bank account for a deceased relative.
A. There’s no list of required documentation online.
B. To find out what documents are needed to close the account, you have to visit a branch.
C. At the branch, after you wait, when you meet with a banker, bankers can require different documents. So if you meet a banker on Monday, she’ll tell you the documents you need, but when you speak with another banker when you come bank on Tuesday, he’ll require other documents. Even after the first banker wrote them down. Or even if it’s the same banker, the banker can tel you different things.
The process requires visit after visit and frustration. Yes, banks don’t want accounts closed but the process just wastes their time, too.
IME it is simple to close a bank account if you're the account holder! I've done it many times without much trouble.
Read the bolded again. You are not the account holder and they can't verify anything with them. The bank is understandably making you jump through more hoops. Verifying that the account holder is deceased, that you actually are who you say you are, and that you have the authority to do anything with that deceased person's account. Why wouldn't they want to make it harder for some unauthorized person to get access to an account holder's funds?
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-03-2022 at 06:42 PM..
I closed a bank account online 2 weeks ago. Transferred the money to another bank with the same account name. 5 minutes and Done.
If I had to do this for a deceased relative I'd do the same thing, move all bank accounts to just one account titled in the same name. That way you'd only have one account to deal with not more.
If you only have this one bank account to deal with it's really not a big deal unless the account is only worth $100 and not worth spending many hours getting it done.
1. Why won’t banks list the documents that you need on a website?
2. Why can’t you submit at least some of the documents to the bank online or by email?
I’m trying to close a bank account for a deceased relative.
A. There’s no list of required documentation online.
B. To find out what documents are needed to close the account, you have to visit a branch.
C. At the branch, after you wait, when you meet with a banker, bankers can require different documents. So if you meet a banker on Monday, she’ll tell you the documents you need, but when you speak with another banker when you come bank on Tuesday, he’ll require other documents. Even after the first banker wrote them down. Or even if it’s the same banker, the banker can tel you different things.
The process requires visit after visit and frustration. Yes, banks don’t want accounts closed but the process just wastes their time, too.
Blame your deceased relative for not having a POD. If they had you as the beneficiary, the account balance would transfer to you upon your presentation of a certified death certificate. And then closing your own account is very simple.
Blame your deceased relative for not having a POD. If they had you as the beneficiary, the account balance would transfer to you upon your presentation of a certified death certificate. And then closing your own account is very simple.
We have everything and the relative spent thousands of dollars in legal fees to get all of the paperwork right:
Power of attorney
Death certificate
Will listing me as representative
Probate court certificate showing that I am a representative
Other appointment documents listing me as the representative
We’re now down to originals vs. copies- one banker says that a copy of an appointment document is fine because the banker will just scan and email it to others in the bank; another banker says that the original must be submitted. Even though the original was filed with the court.
And one banker says that a copy of a death certificate is not proof that the person died.
We have everything and the relative spent thousands of dollars in legal fees to get all of the paperwork right:
Power of attorney
Death certificate
Will listing me as representative
Probate court certificate showing that I am a representative
Other appointment documents listing me as the representative
We’re now down to originals vs. copies- one banker says that a copy of an appointment document is fine because the banker will just scan and email it to others in the bank; another banker says that the original must be submitted. Even though the original was filed with the court.
And one banker says that a copy of a death certificate is not proof that the person died.
They can’t get their story straight.
The authority of any POAs the decedent established ceases on the day of death, so they won't help you settle their affairs after death.
There are official and unofficial "copies" of a death certificate. Watermarked paper that may also have other security features embedded in it, embossed notarized seal and signatures, etc. An unofficial copy can be faked fairly easily so it is not proof the person died. Just because an official death certificate was filed with the court doesn't really matter to another institution. A bank is a private business. They can choose to accept whatever they want. No, it isn't unreasonable to expect their employees to get it right the first time.
When I served as executrix for a parent, I must have ordered, paid for, and presented more than a dozen "official" death certificates to various institutions (banks, local agencies, insurance companies, etc). If you presented the bank with official copies in the first place you wouldn't be having this problem. Never heard of one preferring an unofficial copy over an official one.
An official copy of your court appointment also has an original ink signature and possibly an embossed notary stamp. You can also order multiple copies for just this reason. BTDT as well.
Last edited by Parnassia; 11-04-2022 at 11:42 AM..
Thanks. We have a new POA after the date of death and a stack of documents, prepared by expert counsel. The issue is that the bank keeps telling us different requirements. One banker will write to us, stating that a copy of the death certificate is fine; another then requires and original. It’s the bank’s inconsistency and lack of clarity.
Oh, aha! You mean "closing someone else's account" because I just closed two money markets and all it took was a few seconds typing on the computer by the bank teller and I signed that little electronic signature thing and it was done Although the entire procedure took several minutes because that money got sent away on a wire, and the banks are extra careful about wiring money, verifying everything including phoning the recipient.
My mother had CDs in a trust and it took some time to get those accounts closed and the money distributed, but I have no idea why it took so long. Those accohnts had "pay on death" so I'm surprised it took so long, but it was my siter in charge of that and her ethics, intelligence, and her ****** boyfriend might have slowed things down as she tried to figure out a clever way to get the money all for herself.
Banks really don't care about accounts closing, at least not at the level that most of us here have in our accounts. But they are extra careful about releasing estate money because they are responsible for legal errors.
Thanks. We have a new POA after the date of death and a stack of documents, prepared by expert counsel. The issue is that the bank keeps telling us different requirements. One banker will write to us, stating that a copy of the death certificate is fine; another then requires and original. It’s the bank’s inconsistency and lack of clarity.
when you say "banker" - who are you referring to? A teller? Financial Services Rep? The bank manager?
Perhaps you can request to meet with the manager, then be sure to just work with them?
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