While it may seem natural to designate a beneficiary for this special circumstance, you should consider having a beneficiary for all your financial assets. This includes retirement accounts, investment accounts, bank accounts and more. Adding beneficiaries can be part of your estate planning.
If there is no beneficiary listed on the bank account, the account typically goes through probate, and the funds will be distributed according to the deceased's will or state laws if there is no will.
Most life insurance policies have a default order of payment if you do not name a beneficiary. For many individual policies, the death benefit will be paid to the owner of the policy if they are different than the insured person and still alive, otherwise it will be paid to the owner's estate.
If you need to send money across to another account, you need to add the account as a beneficiary. Keep the beneficiary's account details handy. These include the bank account number, the IFSC code, the branch details, the beneficiary's name as mentioned in the bank account, and phone number.
The only other way of transferring funds to an account without adding it as a beneficiary is making an IMPS transfer using MMID. This MMID or Mobile Money Identification Number is a seven-digit unique number. Of this, the first four digits are the unique identification number of the bank offering IMPS.
Adding a beneficiary to your accounts is one of the most important financial decisions you'll make. It ensures your assets are distributed according to your wishes and can help your loved ones avoid complicated and time-consuming legal proceedings after your passing.
Regardless of what your will says, whoever is named as the designated beneficiary on each account will receive that asset.
When a bank account owner dies, the process is fairly straightforward if the account has a joint owner or beneficiary. Otherwise, the account typically becomes part of the owner's estate or is eventually turned over to the state government and the disbursement of funds is handled in probate court.
If none of those relatives can be identified, your assets could go to parents, grandparents, siblings, nephews, nieces—or even the state. "With no will or next of kin, your assets become escheated—which is just a fancy way of saying the state lays claim to them," Bob says.
If you contact the bank before consulting an attorney, you risk account freezes, which could severely delay auto-payments and direct deposits and most importantly mortgage payments. You should call Social Security right away to tell them about the death of your loved one.
Bottom Line
Whether you call it a payable-on-death account or a Totten trust, this type of account can serve a useful purpose when creating an estate plan. The main benefit is its ability to bypass the probate process and for the funds to go directly to your beneficiary.
An executor/administrator of an estate can only withdraw money from a deceased person's bank account if the account does not have a designated beneficiary or joint owner and is not being disposed of by the deceased person's trust.
If there is no beneficiary named at the time the account holder dies, the account will be frozen, and the account will enter the probate process. During that time, the money in the account is inaccessible until the probate process is completed and an executor distributes the estate.
Rule: (a) Upon the death of an accountholder, the FDIC will insure the deceased owner's accounts as if he or she were still alive for six months after his or her death.
The primary disadvantage of naming a trust as beneficiary is that the retirement plan's assets will be subjected to required minimum distribution payouts, which are calculated based on the life expectancy of the oldest beneficiary.
Family members or next of kin generally notify the bank when a client passes. It can also be someone who was appointed by a court to handle the deceased's financial affairs. There are also times when the bank learns of a client's passing through probate.
In conclusion, it's a crime to use a dead relative's payment cards, even if they're no longer able to use them. Anyone convicted of using a card to make fraudulent purchases will face years of imprisonment for deceit, not to mention an identity theft offense will appear on their criminal record.
If a beneficiary is not named, your heirs may have to go through probate, a legal process for settling an estate after someone dies. That makes beneficiary designations — up-to-date ones — extremely important. Failure to list a beneficiary could mean it goes to the deceased account holder's estate.
Generally, collecting straightforward estate assets like bank account money will take between 3 to 6 weeks. However, there can be more complexities involved with shareholdings, property and some other assets, which can increase the amount time it takes before any inheritance is received.
A disclaimer is an heir's legal refusal to accept a gift or a bequest. The disclaiming party does not have the authority to direct who inherits their share. If you properly execute a disclaimer, the asset disclaimed will pass to whoever would have received it had you died before the person who left the asset to you.
After your death, the beneficiary has a right to collect any money remaining in your account. They need to go to the bank with proper identification. They must also bring a certified copy of the death certificate. The bank will have a copy of the form you filled out naming them the beneficiary.
By naming a beneficiary/nominee, you ensure that your assets, specifically your bank account funds, go to the person that you want. This clarity minimises the risk of disputes and confusion between relatives and legal heirs regarding the allocation of your assets.