Dealing with the bank

When a bank learns that a customer has died, it stops the accounts. The money is still there. It moves only when the executor, holding letters, asks for it.

What the bank must do

Freeze the accounts, so that nobody draws on them before the estate is in order. Tell the executor the balances at the date of death. Pay the balances into the estate late account once letters of executorship or letters of authority are produced. Close the accounts when asked.

A joint account is frozen too, because the person's share belongs to the estate. Debit orders stop, including the ones that paid the household's bills.

The words the bank uses

Frozen, or blocked: Stopped on notice of death. No withdrawals, no debit orders, no cards.
Deceased estates department: The bank's own unit for these accounts, which the branch will refer you to.
Date of death balance certificate: The statement of what was in each account on the day, which the executor needs for the inventory.
Letters: Letters of executorship or letters of authority. The bank releases nothing without them.
Estate late account: The new account in the estate's name that receives the balances and pays the estate's bills.
Certified copies: Copies stamped by a commissioner of oaths, such as a police station or a post office. The bank asks for them more than once.

What to expect

The branch will send you to the deceased estates department, which works by email and post. It will ask for the death certificate, the letters, the executor's identity document and certified copies, and may ask again for the same papers. Weeks pass between steps.

Some banks release money for the funeral before letters are issued, on proof of the funeral account. Ask; it is at the bank's discretion.

A surviving spouse's own account is not frozen. A spouse married in community of property will find the joint account frozen. Half of it is theirs, and the executor pays that half out with the estate.

Questions to ask

Which accounts did the person hold here, and what were the balances at the date of death?
Exactly which documents do you need, and in what form?
Will you release money for the funeral before letters are issued?
How long after you receive the letters will the balances be paid over?
Is there a bond, a loan or a credit card? What is owed, and is there credit life insurance on it?
Who is handling this estate at the bank, and what is their reference number?

What you are entitled to

The executor, with letters, is entitled to the balances and to statements. Heirs are not entitled to deal with the bank directly; they deal with the executor. A named beneficiary on a policy the bank sold is paid by the insurer, outside the estate.

If you are stuck

Ask for the deceased estates department's reference number and write to it, keeping copies.
If the bank does not act, complain through its own complaints line; every bank has one.
If that fails, the National Financial Ombud Scheme handles complaints about banks at no charge.

If someone else has claimed the money, or you are asked to change bank details, read protecting an estate from fraud.

Last checked 20 September 2026. The law behind these pages is the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965.