Losing someone close to you can be devastating. We understand that you’ll be grieving and sorting out financial matters will be the last thing you’ll want to think about at such a difficult time. This guide gently explains the process of dealing with any savings or mortgage accounts your loved one held with us and aims to offer all the help and advice you’ll need in relation to them. Please remember, you’ll have our utmost sympathy and support at all times.
Registering your loved one’s death
When someone passes away, their death must be registered with the Register for Births, Deaths and Marriages.
You can do this at your local registration office or via the government website. This website contains useful information as to who can register a death and how to do it.
Upon registering the death, you will be given:
- a death certificate
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a certificate for burial or cremation
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a certificate of Registration of Death.
It’s a good idea to ask for extra copies of the death certificate, as many organisations will request an original version. Please bear in mind that there will be a charge for this.
Helping you through what you'll need to do
The government’s website provides a simple and invaluable checklist to guide you through what to do when your loved one passes away or you can use the one we’ve included here for your convenience.
Organising the funeral, be it a burial or cremation, is a daunting task. A professional funeral director will be able to organise everything on your behalf, ensuring it is all dealt with in a dignified and respectful manner.
What to do when a loved one passes away
At a time of such sadness and difficulty, it can be useful for someone to guide you through the more practical matters.
We’ve put together a simple checklist, which will hopefully take away some of the stress and strain and assist you in what you need to do.
It’s helpful to have the following information ready with regards to your loved one:
- National Insurance number
- NHS number
- Date and place of birth
- Date of marriage or civil partnership (if appropriate)
- Tax reference number
- Passport and driving licence number
The Estate
When someone passes away, everything they own is referred to as their ‘Estate’. This can include:
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Money - cash, bank or building society accounts, money owed by others
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Property
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Personal possessions, such as jewellery or a car
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Insurance policies
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Stocks and shares
The Estate is distributed in accordance with whatever is written in the Will. There is usually a person named in the Will who is responsible for carrying out the deceased’s wishes. This person is called the Executor.
If your loved one did not leave a Will, the court may appoint someone to deal with the Estate, this person is called the Administrator.
Executors and Administrators are collectively referred to as Personal Representatives. If you are a Personal Representative, you can deal with the Estate yourself or you can appoint a Solicitor to deal with the administration. You’ll have to pay for these services, but it can be worthwhile at such a difficult time.
You can find out more at the government probate page.
Letting us know
The next thing you’ll need to do is let all correspondents know what has happened. There are a number of ways you can inform us of the passing away of one of our Members:
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Call into one of our local branches where you’ll be treated with support and sympathy
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Write to us at: Progressive Building Society, 33/37 Wellington Place, Belfast, BT1 6HH
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Call our helpline on 0800 029 4997, (9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday).
We are happy to accept all enquiries from individuals and Solicitors dealing with the administration of the deceased's estate, with the documents detailed in the table below. If an enquiry is received from a third-party company who is not the Personal Representative or Solicitor acting in the administration of the deceased's estate, there is a search fee of £100, which is refundable if a savings account is found in the name of the deceased.
Cancelling payments & standing orders
Any payments usually paid into your loved one’s savings account, should be cancelled as soon as possible. The quickest way is to contact the organisation sending the payment directly, otherwise payments may continue.
After the death is registered at Progressive, we will freeze the account and return all payments to the sender.
Releasing funds to cover costs
We understand that you may need to honour some bills before all the legal documents are sorted out for administration of the Estate.
We can help by allowing you to use the balance of your loved one’s account to pay expenses such as those listed in the table below.
To release funds, you’ll need to provide us with the death certificate, an interim death certificate or a coroner’s certificate, and the passbooks of your loved one’s savings account(s).
A Personal Representative’s Request for Funds to Cover Costs form, available to download or pick up in any branch, must also be completed.
To make a withdrawal, visit any of our branches or call our helpline on 0800 029 4998.
We will need the original funeral bill and we will issue you with a cheque payable to the funeral directors.
We will need the original court invoice and we will issue you with a cheque payable to the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service.
Inheritance Tax needs to be paid if a person’s Estate is over the Inheritance Tax threshold. The Inheritance Tax threshold can go up or down from year to year depending on rules set by the government. In most cases, Inheritance Tax must be paid before the Grant of Representation is issued.
The Personal Representative(s) should complete and return HM Revenue & Customs form IHT423 to us. We will pay the Inheritance Tax directly to HM Revenue & Customs.
For more information on Inheritance Tax, visit gov.uk/inheritance-tax, or call HMRC’s Inheritance Tax helpline on 0300 123 1072.
Closing accounts - Documents you'll need:
Request to Close Account form will always be required.
A Bereavement - Request to Close Accounts form completed by the Personal Representative(s). You will also need either the original death certificate, interim death certificate, coroner’s certificate or a certified copy.
A Bereavement - Request to Close Accounts form completed by the Personal Representative(s), and witnessed by a Solicitor. You will also need either the original death certificate, interim death certificate, coroner’s certificate or a certified copy.
A Bereavement - Request to Close Accounts form completed by the Personal Representative(s) named in the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration. You will also need either the original or a certified copy of the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration
Closing savings accounts
To release funds entirely from a savings account in your loved one’s sole name, the Personal Representative should complete and return the Bereavement – Request to Close Accounts form, available to download or pick up in any branch.
With some savings accounts, it is possible to continue the account in a different name or transfer ownership, for instance, if it has been a joint account or if the account was a nominee account.
In any instance, we can talk you through how best to proceed with the account after your loved one has passed.
If you held a joint account with a loved one who has passed away, we will change the account into your sole name and give you a new Passbook.
You can also choose to close the account without notice or loss of interest should you choose to do so.
Bond accounts can be left until they mature, or you can close the account immediately without notice or loss of interest.
If the person who has passed away held a savings account on behalf of another person, for example, a parent holding an account on behalf of a child, the Personal Representative(s) will take over the operation of the account.
If your loved one held a Cash ISA, it will remain open and maintain its tax-free status until either the completion of the administration of their estate, the date their ISA is closed or on the third anniversary of their death, whichever is earliest.
After 3 years if the account hasn't been closed, we'll move the balance into a taxable savings account. It stays there until the Personal Representative(s) asks for the money to be released.
If you are the surviving spouse or civil partner of the person who has passed away, you can inherit an additional ISA allowance. This allowance is known as an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) or inherited ISA allowance.
This means that you will inherit the deceased’s ISA allowance but not necessarily the balance of the ISA account. The allowance is available for 3 years after the date of death or 180 days after the administration of the estate has been completed, whichever is longer.
Please note, at Progressive we can only accept an inherited ISA allowance from a surviving spouse or civil partner where the deceased ISA holder was an existing Member and held their Cash ISA with the Society.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept the transfer of an inherited ISA allowance from another ISA manager. The surviving spouse or civil partner may only make a one-off permitted subscription to their Progressive Cash ISA and we are unable to accept multiple subscriptions. It's worth noting that if the surviving spouse or civil partner does not subscribe the full amount of their inherited ISA allowance then any unused balance will be lost.
If your loved one managed their savings account online, you can contact our Online Service Team through our contact page, and they will guide you through the necessary steps to take.
Closing mortgage accounts
There will be lots to consider at this time and one of the big decisions to be made will no doubt be about property.
As mortgage experts we can guide you through the options, which may be available to you, so you’ll have all the information you need to help you make the right decision.
If the mortgage was in a sole name, it’s sometimes possible to pay it off using the proceeds of the Estate or an insurance policy.
Where this is not possible, there are some alternative options.
For example, the property may be sold, and the mortgage repaid. Or perhaps another member of the family may plan to live in the property. Where this is the case we may be able to arrange a new mortgage subject to affordability checks and approval.
Talk to us and let us use our knowledge to help you.
If the mortgage is in joint names and it can’t be repaid by an insurance policy, savings plan or other resource, we can amend the account into the name of the surviving borrower, providing the property was owned on a ‘joint tenancy’ basis.
If the mortgage was owned as ‘tenants in common’ this is a different matter and we’ll need instructions from you or your Solicitor on how you wish to proceed.
It is important that you keep in touch with us and that you continue to meet the monthly payments.
Our friendly staff will be able to explain your options, so please get in touch.
Progressive Building Society, 33/37 Wellington Place, Belfast, BT1 6HH
Alternatively, you can call our helpline on 0800 029 4998 or visit one of our Branch offices.
- By post: Progressive Building Society, 33/37 Wellington Place, Belfast, BT1 6HH
- By telephone: 0800 029 4998
- By email: savingssupport@theprogressive.com mortgagesupport@theprogressive.com