HSBC bereavement: number and forms

Their Bereavement support guide says that if you tell them at a branch you should bring the death certificate if you can, but that it is not a requirement to notify them. Their online page says not to worry if you do not have all the documents to hand yet. Their what-to-do page lists the customer’s death certificate among what they will need from you.

Their glossary says the person who tells the bank about a death may be a personal representative, a family member, a friend or a relative. Their online service also has a “Notifier/unsure” choice for people who are not sure who should act for the estate.

To deal with the accounts after you tell them, they work with the person who has legal authority: the executor named in the will, or the legal next of kin if there is no will. Their FAQs say the legal next of kin is usually the surviving spouse or civil partner, or any blood-related or adopted children. Their Bereavement support guide says that in England, Wales and Northern Ireland the laws of intestacy apply, and that in Scotland the rules are different and the rights of succession apply.

Online, you give your own details and the person’s details, then upload documents such as the death certificate or will. They then send you a reference number by post or email. You can use it later to add more documents without giving your details again. Their online notification page says that a personal representative should keep their mobile phone and a UK driving licence, a passport or a National EEA/Swiss ID card to hand, and that each upload must be up to 5MB and a pdf, txt, jpg, jpeg, jpe, jfif, png, gif or bmp file.

Once they are told, their Bereavement Support Team contacts you to explain the next steps and timescales. They tell all parts of HSBC UK that have a relationship with the person. Their bereavement page currently says they are taking a little longer than usual to process requests, in branch or online.

They freeze the person’s sole accounts to stop withdrawals, but money can still be paid in. On sole accounts, they cancel standing orders and Direct Debits, including utility bills, mortgage or loan payments and home insurance, so anything that must carry on needs a new payment arrangement from another account. Powers of attorney and third-party mandates end when they are told. Credit cards in the person’s name are cancelled.

Joint accounts move into the name of the surviving holder once they have formal confirmation of the death, unless there is a dispute over the estate. The account number stays the same and the survivor is told. Their Bereavement support guide says joint accounts continue as normal.

Their FAQs say that once they have all the documents needed to close the accounts, where the person held only savings and current accounts, they combine the balances and aim to release the funds within 2 weeks. Their glossary page says that, with only current and savings accounts, they will release the funds within ten working days. Their FAQs add that it may take longer if the person held other products, such as investments. Their FAQs and glossary say that if they know of a dispute over the estate, they cannot release funds until they have seen a grant of probate or letters of administration.

Their FAQs say that if all the person’s accounts are in joint names they would usually not need a grant, and their Bereavement support guide says each case is reviewed individually.

To close the person’s sole accounts, the personal representative completes their Closure Authority Form, a PDF you download from their FAQs page. Where a grant is needed, the form must be signed by everyone appointed. Where a grant is not needed, they may accept one executor or next of kin, and they can ask for more signatures. The form gives no instruction on where to return it; its last page prints the Bereavement Services address in Wymondham as “Customer Information”. Questions about filling it in go to the Bereavement Support Team on 0345 850 0088.

Their FAQs page also offers an Estate form, a PDF listing the value of the assets and debts held in the person’s sole name. It has a box to say whether you have a grant or are not getting one. Their pages do not say when they need it or where to send it.

Their FAQs say they can pay the funeral bill from the person’s account once they have formal confirmation of the death and the bill, if there is enough money. Send a copy online, by contacting the team, by email to hsbc.bereavement@hsbc.com (a scan or photo) or, if you cannot email, by post. If the bill is an estimate they can pay the deposit. If you paid it yourself they may reimburse you with proof of payment. If there is not enough money they can make a part payment, with written confirmation from the personal representative. They can also pay inheritance tax if there is enough money, using the HMRC form IHT 423. Their FAQs also list inheritance tax among the things they can help pay “(subject to limits)” and do not say what the limits are.

Once you have given them the death certificate and they know you are the legal next of kin or executor, they can tell you the account balances over the phone or by post. You may need these to apply for a grant.

Their Bereavement support guide says an executor can open an Executor Bank Account if they want one, but it is not required. Any one executor can open it, through an appointment at a local branch. They need a grant of probate or letters of administration, or the death certificate with an original or certified copy of the will. With no will, they can only open it once letters of administration have been issued.

Their FAQs say that if the personal representatives are not UK residents, their identity and address documents must be certified. The certifier can be any HSBC branch in any country, a local lawyer, solicitor, notary or similar legal authority, or a British consulate or embassy in the country where the documents were issued. They also need verified English translations.

If the person also held a mortgage, loan, ISA or investments with HSBC UK, the teams that run those products contact the personal representatives, so you may hear from more than one team. Their Bereavement product guide says a single-name residential mortgage is frozen and stops building up interest from the date of death, subject to periodic reviews, but that a single-name buy-to-let mortgage, or a joint mortgage (residential or buy to let), is not frozen and interest keeps building up. That guide also says a mortgage team contacts joint borrowers about 6 weeks after they are told.

If the person held a business account, their commercial customers page says they update their records and, if appropriate, tell the relationship manager. The page then explains what happens for sole traders, limited companies, partnerships and clubs.

For accounts held with HSBC in Jersey, their Bereavement support guide says that if the customer lived in Jersey they may be able to release the money without Jersey Probate where the gross worldwide estate is under £30,000. For the Channel Islands and Isle of Man they usually need probate documents from the local court.

If the person had an ISA and there is a surviving spouse or civil partner, that person can ask about an extra ISA allowance (the Additional Permitted Subscription). The surviving spouse or civil partner can give a verbal declaration to the Bereavement Support Team on 0345 850 0088, or use HSBC’s declaration form. HSBC says it sends a letter confirming the allowance within 14 days of getting the completed declaration.

If the person also banked with first direct, a division of HSBC UK Bank plc with its own bereavement pages on firstdirect.com: HSBC UK’s pages on hsbc.co.uk do not say whether first direct has to be told separately. The last screen of HSBC’s online notification service says that if the person held a limited company account, a partnership account (including a limited liability partnership account), or products with First Direct or CIIOM, you will be contacted shortly by a representative from those areas; the screen does not say what CIIOM stands for. first direct’s own bereavement page says you can notify it in person at an HSBC branch, which will liaise with its Bereavement Support Team, and its FAQ says it will share a notification it receives with HSBC if any accounts are held with HSBC.