questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
i have a two questions
1. one fine day out of the blue hubbie drops dead. couple have a joint account. uncaring bank freezes the account. so how the hell does grieving widow get to the cash? she has to eat. there is a will in place. funerals ain't cheap
2,how long does it usually take to collect life assurance? I have heard it might be up to 60 days even if, as usual, it turns out to be a routine death
3, how does widow get the annuity money to continue to be paid if joint account is frozen?
i would like to hear from all of you
thanks
1. one fine day out of the blue hubbie drops dead. couple have a joint account. uncaring bank freezes the account. so how the hell does grieving widow get to the cash? she has to eat. there is a will in place. funerals ain't cheap
2,how long does it usually take to collect life assurance? I have heard it might be up to 60 days even if, as usual, it turns out to be a routine death
3, how does widow get the annuity money to continue to be paid if joint account is frozen?
i would like to hear from all of you
thanks
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
I thought banks don't freeze joint accounts - that's the advantage of having them joint, so the remaining spouse can still access it after death.
Based on this article:
http://estatelawcanada.blogspot.ca/2011 ... cutor.html
it seems like for spouses they won't be frozen but for parents/children they could be.
I don't know the answers to your other questions.
Based on this article:
http://estatelawcanada.blogspot.ca/2011 ... cutor.html
it seems like for spouses they won't be frozen but for parents/children they could be.
I don't know the answers to your other questions.
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
THANKS
i WILL CONFIRM WITH MY BANK RE JOINT ACCOUNT REMAINING FREE FOR WIFE
i WILL CONFIRM WITH MY BANK RE JOINT ACCOUNT REMAINING FREE FOR WIFE
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
Also we found that TD would advance funds to the funeral home and the estate lawyer from an account in Dad's name only. YMMV
For the fun of it...Keith
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
that is good news
especially in a time of grief
especially in a time of grief
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Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
Joint bank accounts (assuming they are Joint With Right of Survivor - JWROS) are no problem. They are outside of estate, and widow immediately assumes ownership. Bank will eventually want a copy of Death Certificate to change name.
Assuming Annuity is also JWROS, same deal. Send copy of of death certificate to Annuity company to sort out paperwork, but there should be no interruption in payments. As joint account is not frozen, there is no problem with access to the payments.
I don't have broad enough experience to say how long Insurance companies take on average. It was less than 3 weeks in the case of my late father.
You should be aware that banks may freeze, or at least restrict access to, joint safe deposit boxes until they see a probated will. This is to protect their liability in case the spouse runs off with the will and valuables that may have been willed to others). This can be a major nuisance. My father's advice (after an unfortunate experience a friend had) was to clean out the safe deposit box before you tell the bank the co-owner is dead.
Assuming Annuity is also JWROS, same deal. Send copy of of death certificate to Annuity company to sort out paperwork, but there should be no interruption in payments. As joint account is not frozen, there is no problem with access to the payments.
I don't have broad enough experience to say how long Insurance companies take on average. It was less than 3 weeks in the case of my late father.
You should be aware that banks may freeze, or at least restrict access to, joint safe deposit boxes until they see a probated will. This is to protect their liability in case the spouse runs off with the will and valuables that may have been willed to others). This can be a major nuisance. My father's advice (after an unfortunate experience a friend had) was to clean out the safe deposit box before you tell the bank the co-owner is dead.
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
guru
thanks for that
it is re-assuring
as far safety deposit box is concerned, thankfully, in this instance, it does not apply
thanks for that
it is re-assuring
as far safety deposit box is concerned, thankfully, in this instance, it does not apply
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
TD allowed my brother and I to access the box held our father with a bank employee present who made an inventory of its contents. The will was there and we got a copy of it from them.OhGreatGuru wrote:You should be aware that banks may freeze, or at least restrict access to, joint safe deposit boxes until they see a probated will. This is to protect their liability in case the spouse runs off with the will and valuables that may have been willed to others). This can be a major nuisance. My father's advice (after an unfortunate experience a friend had) was to clean out the safe deposit box before you tell the bank the co-owner is dead.
They did explain that this access was not required but that they had some flexibility in certain cases.
For the fun of it...Keith
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
For that reason, mother's will is being held in the safe deposit box of the executorkcowan wrote:TD allowed my brother and I to access the box held our father with a bank employee present who made an inventory of its contents. The will was there and we got a copy of it from them.
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Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
My great-uncle lived in Montreal, but distrusted the Quebec government (especially the PQ) and kept valuables in a safety deposit box in Ottawa. I had a power of attorney to access the box. When he died, my mother, the executor of his will, gave me a copy of the will and asked me to bring her the contents of the box. When I presented the copy of the will to the branch manager, he waived it away, saying that there was no need, since I already had a power of attorney.
I didn't have the heart to tell him that the power of attorney had died with my great-uncle.
George
I didn't have the heart to tell him that the power of attorney had died with my great-uncle.
George
The juice is worth the squeeze
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
I remember very well that was the common sentiment at the time, in light of the first referendum, amongst many in this neck of the the woodsghariton wrote:My great-uncle lived in Montreal, but distrusted the Quebec government (especially the PQ) and kept valuables in a safety deposit box in Ottawa.
George
Last edited by miguel on 04 Feb 2017 13:38, edited 1 time in total.
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
Good idea. In our case, my brother and I were joint executors. There was no lawyer on retainer. My brother had a copy but the lawyer wanted a certified copy.qasimodo wrote:For that reason, mother's will is being held in the safe deposit box of the executorkcowan wrote:TD allowed my brother and I to access the box held our father with a bank employee present who made an inventory of its contents. The will was there and we got a copy of it from them.
For the fun of it...Keith
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
I thought that the lawyer who draws up a will would retain a copy.
In my case, that lawyer is also a co-executor, so keeping a copy makes eminent sense for her. But I would have thought that even if the lawyer is not an executor, he or she would keep a copy. I know that I have kept copies of all documents I have produced for clients over the last twelve years, since I became a lawyer. (Old files never die, they just fade with age.)
George
In my case, that lawyer is also a co-executor, so keeping a copy makes eminent sense for her. But I would have thought that even if the lawyer is not an executor, he or she would keep a copy. I know that I have kept copies of all documents I have produced for clients over the last twelve years, since I became a lawyer. (Old files never die, they just fade with age.)
George
The juice is worth the squeeze
Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
Sometimes, but not in this case. So we decided it was better and more accessible in the safekeeping of the executor than her own safe deposit box (The executor would require the will to access the safe deposit which contains the will)ghariton wrote:I thought that the lawyer who draws up a will would retain a copy.
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Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
i spoke to the bankSpudd wrote:I thought banks don't freeze joint accounts - that's the advantage of having them joint, so the remaining spouse can still access it after death.
Based on this article:
http://estatelawcanada.blogspot.ca/2011 ... cutor.html
it seems like for spouses they won't be frozen but for parents/children they could be.
I don't know the answers to your other questions.
they say joint accounts are indeed frozen once they get notified of a death
but it all gets sorted out in time after the joint account is designated as an 'estate account'
but it takes time
the bank says both spouses (while still alive) should open up individual accounts, as well as keeping the joint account, and that any unneeded excess funds be moved over before death
are there any views on this as i find the info contradictory
thanks for all your help
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Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
You haven't mentioned with bank (or which province), so I checked TD Bank Financial Group
Based on the fact your profile says Location: Montreal, you might be running into that last part.TD Bank wrote:What happens to funds in the Joint Account if one of the accountholders dies?
This will depend on the terms that govern the account and the direction provided by the accountholders to us at the time the Joint Account is opened. In some cases, the Joint Account may have a right of survivorship which allows TD Canada Trust to pay the account balance directly to the surviving joint accountholder(s).
Note: In Québec, a joint account is frozen upon the death of one of the joint account holders. Talk to us about how this works.
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Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
Seems Quebec is very contrary to the rest of Canada in the matter of joint accounts. The purpose of a JTWROS type joint account (either or for signatures) is to make it a seamless transition to the surviving spouse. Which is exactly what happened when my father passed away. My mother continued to use the account without missing a beat. Indeed, she didn't even get a new set of cheques with only her name pre-printed on the cheques.
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Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
ok thanksPeculiar_Investor wrote:Based on the fact your profile says Location: Montreal, you might be running into that last part.TD Bank wrote: Note: In Québec, a joint account is frozen upon the death of one of the joint account holders. Talk to us about how this works.
it seems, no surprise to me, that quebec province is different from all others
so what else is new?
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Re: questions after death: bank accounts/life insurance
I was going to ask what province Peculiar_Investor is in, but the question is answered. Civil Law in Quebec is different than the rest of the country. This is apparently one of the differences.