What to do when someone passes away

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1 What to do when someone passes away

2 We understand that it s a difficult time when someone close to you passes away. Dealing with practical matters may seem overwhelming, which is why we ve made it simple and straightforward for you to notify us.

3 What you need to do. Personal Account Please notify us as soon as possible. You can contact us by phone, or post. Phone Post Bereavement Services Team, Think Park Mosley Road Trafford Park Manchester M17 1FQ

4 thinkmoney Credit Card The thinkmoney Credit Card is issued by Capital One, so the next of kin will need to contact them directly to let them know. Capital One can be contacted by phone or post: Phone Post Capital One, PO Box 9776, Nottingham NG2 9JE Once you contact Capital One, they will explain what you need to do to close the credit card. You can contact us by phone, or post. Phone Post thinkmoney Think Park Mosley Road Trafford Park Manchester M17 1FQ

5 You only need to contact us once If the person who has passed away has products with any of the following companies within the Think Money Group, we ll let them know on your behalf you do not need to contact them directly. Ideal Finance think2claim Gregory Pennington Wilson Andrews Freeman Jones Ocean Finance Think Insure What happens next? If it s a single account As soon as you contact us to let us know someone has passed away, all activity on their account will be stopped immediately. If you are the next of kin, we ll send a bereavement pack out to you, which we ll need you to complete. If you are not the next of kin, we ll ask for the next of kin s details so we can send the pack directly to them. If it s a joint account If it s a joint account, it ll continue to run as normal. In order to remove the person that s passed away from the account, we ll just need to see their death certificate. Either the next of kin or joint account holder can send this to us. We will write to the remaining account holder once the account is in their name only. Please be aware that whilst the process is being completed, some correspondence may still be sent with both account holders names on it.

6 Documents required: We ll send a bereavement pack out to the next of kin. In here, we ll tell you what documentation you need to send into us, along with a bereavement form and a pre-paid envelope. These documents are likely to include: The original Death Certificate, Fact of Death or Coroner s Certificate The will, to confirm who is entitled to deal with the estate If there is no will, a Grant of Probate to confirm who the executor of the estate is Proof of the next of kin s identity and address (see the table for more information) For proof of your identity, we need one piece of ID from Table A or two pieces from Table B. Table A - Identification Passport Driving License EU National Identity Card Immigration & Nationality Directorate (IND) Application Registration Card HM Revenue & Customs Tax Notification Benefits Letter or Book Provisional Driving License Table B - Address Bank/building society/credit card/ mortgage summary statement Driving License Utility Bill/Statement Local authority bill (council tax or rent book) HM Revenue & Customs Tax Notification Benefits Letter or Book Provisional Driving License HGV/Motorcycle Licenses HGV/Motorcycle Licenses Driving Licenses Issued by EU Countries (Plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) Solicitors letter confirming house purchase or land registry confirmation

7 Aged 20 or Under NHS Medical Card/Letter Birth Certificate Students Only University/College letter of acceptance/ enrolment offer Student Loan Company/LEA/SAAS award letter UCAS Letter Tenancy Agreement/Student Accommodation contract When sending these to us, please make sure of the following: All documents are the originals. At least one piece of ID contains your name in full, including any middle names (e.g. Mr Richard John Smith). Any statements or utility bills are dated in the last 6 months. Any benefit, council or HMRC letters are dated in the last 12 months. If sending your driving licence, we need the photo card we can no longer accept the counterpart or paper driving licences. Driving licence photo cards, passports or EU ID cards must be valid and not expired. If the ID contains multiple pages, please send us all the pages

8 Frequently Asked Questions. Q. Can I send copies of the documents you request? A. Wherever possible, we ll need to see the original documents. However, we know that sometimes this may not always be possible. In this case, we may be able to accept copies of documents that are certified by a solicitor or bank please speak to us if you don t have the originals available before sending anything into us. Q. How will you return the documents to me? A. If it s an original document or contains any sensitive information, we ll return it by Special Delivery, or by tracked post with Royal Mail. Any other documents will be returned in the same way you send them to us. Q. I ve sent in ID as requested, but it s not been accepted. Why? A. When we return your ID to you, we ll explain in the letter why it s been rejected. It could be that the ID isn t an original or a certified copy. Or it could be that the documents are incomplete or out of date. Here are a few things to keep in mind: If you ve sent us in a bill, it s important that you send us the complete document. For example, if the sheet you re sending us says 1 of 3 on it, we ll need to see all 3 sheets. Any statements or utility bills need to be dated in the last 6 months. We ll need at least one piece of ID with your full name on it, including any middle names. For example, one form of ID could have Mr R J Smith on it, but the other needs to state Mr Richard John Smith. Driving licence photo cards, passports or EU ID cards must be in date. We can t accept expired ones. Any benefit, council or HMRC letters need to be dated in the last 12 months. If you re sending your driving licence, we need the photo card as we can no longer accept the counterpart or paper driving licences.

9 Frequently Asked Questions. Q. Do I have to be the next of kin to tell you that someone has passed away? A. No, anyone can let us know that someone has passed away. However, we won t be able to discuss the account with you if you re not the next of kin. We will also need to speak to the next of kin to be able to close the account. When you call us, we ll ask for the next of kin s details so that we can forward our bereavement pack directly to them. Q. I don t have a death certificate as the death is going through inquest. Can I send anything else? A. Yes, if a further inquest is due, you ll be given a Fact of Death or a Coroner s Certificate. We re able to accept either of these in order to proceed. These must be the original documents. Q. What happens to the account when someone passes away? If it s a single account: When we re told that someone has passed away, all activity on their account will be stopped immediately. No money will be able to be taken out of the account, the debit card will be cancelled and any payments due to leave the account (Direct Debits or standing orders) will be stopped. Alternative arrangements may need to be made to continue to pay the bills. If it s a joint account: The account will continue to function as normal. Once we have completed the process and we have all of the documentation we need, the person who has passed away will be removed from the account, and it will become a sole account. Please be aware that whilst the process is being completed, some correspondence may still be sent with both account holders names on it.

10 Frequently Asked Questions. Q. Can a solicitor deal with the account on my behalf? A. Yes if you re the next of kin and would like a solicitor to close the account on your behalf, that s fine, you just need to let us know. We will write to the solicitor and ask them to complete the necessary steps in order to close the account. Any cheques will usually be made payable to the solicitor so that they can settle the estate. Q. Can I withdraw money from a joint account during the process? A. If you re the joint account holder, yes, you can continue to use the account as normal. Q. Can I withdraw money from a single account? A. No once the account is frozen, it can t be accessed. Before we can issue any funds from the account, we need the bereavement pack to be completed by the next of kin and the required documents to be sent in. Once we ve completed the process, we ll close the account and issue a cheque for the remaining balance. Q. How long will it take to close an account down? A. Once we ve received all the correct documents, we ll close the account on that day. If there s a remaining balance on the account, we ll arrange to send this out via cheque. This will be with you in approximately 10 working days from the date the account is closed.

11 Frequently Asked Questions. Q. Can I take money from the account to pay for the funeral? A. You will not be able to withdraw funds from the account, but we can arrange to cover the cost of the funeral from the remaining balance in the deceased s account. The next of kin will need to get in touch if you d like us to do this. We will need the invoice for the funeral (it needs to be the final invoice, not an estimation) and we ll contact the funeral company to organise payment from the deceased s account. Q. Can you tell me how much is in the account? A. When you contact us to tell us that someone has passed away, we will not be able to disclose any information at that time. We can only speak to the next of kin about the account once we ve received the bereavement pack back and have received the documents required. Q. Do I need Grant of Probate? A. The Grant of Probate confirms who the executor of the estate is if there is no will. In most instances we will only need to see this is if the account has more than 5, in it. Q. Will Direct Debits and standing orders continue to be taken from the account? If it s a single account: No, all activity on the account will be stopped, so no Direct Debits or standing orders will be taken. Alternative arrangements may need to be made to continue to pay the bills. If it s a joint account: Yes, the account will continue to run as normal.

12 For more information and advice. Find out more information about what to do after someone passes way. Find out more information about what you need to do after someone passes away. They offer bereavement counselling and support. Get guidance on both practical and legal issues. Get guidance and support with inheritance tax, PAYE and any other tax questions. You can search for a list of local funeral directors. You can search for a list of local funeral directors. Think Money Limited. Registered office: Think Park, Mosley Road, Trafford Park, Manchester, M17 1FQ. Registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No TB.32/v4.11/16 CPM 78039

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