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Here to help when you need it most
If you have suffered the loss of a loved one, we are here to help you. Below is an easy to read, step by step guide to assist you finalise the accounts of a deceased estate.
Requirements to finalise an Estate will vary depending on the total value of the accounts the deceased holds with The Mutual Bank. For more information, see the Deceased Estates PDF.
Step By Step Guide
Contact our Estate Management team on 1300 688 825, 9am-5pm Monday to Friday AEST, or email us at DeceasedEstates@themutual.com.au, or visit one of The Mutual Bank’s branches.
At this stage, we’ll ask you to provide the following:
- A completed Notification of Death form
- A Certified copy of the Member’s Death Certificate
- A Certified copy of the Member’s last Will (if any)
- Your confirmation as to whether, or not, any other asset holder (e.g. a listed company in which shares are held, or a bank or a land titles registry) requires you to obtain a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration.
Please note that, if you initially send images of these documents to us, by email, at: DeceasedEstates@themutual.com.au, the original documents will still be required, and should be delivered to us at one of our branches, or sent to us at the following postal address:
The Mutual Bank
Estate Management
PO Box 2487
GREEN HILLS NSW 2323
When we receive the Initial Information from you, our Estate Management team will conduct an investigation of the account(s) held as at the date of the Member’s death. We will determine which further information and documentation is required before we can release funds and close our Member’s accounts.
We will send a letter to the Executor, Administrator, Next of Kin, or appointed Lawyer, and we will list all accounts which the Member held with The Mutual Bank as at the date of death. The letter will also advise as to our outstanding requirements.
In some circumstances, Probate or Letters of Administration may be required even though the combined balance of accounts held at The Mutual Bank does not exceed $50,000.00. These circumstances may include, for example, where other assets, such as a property which being held by The Mutual Bank as security for a loan facility, or where a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration is needed to satisfy the requirements of another asset holder.
Once all requirements have been met, net funds held in the Member’s sole name will be released to the care of the Estate’s Executor, Administrator, Next of Kin or Lawyer.
Please call our Estate Management team on 1300 688 825 or email us at DeceasedEstates@themutual.com.au if you have any concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions
If the Member did not leave a Will, it will generally be the responsibility of the Next of Kin to complete the documentation and meet our other requirements.
Although we may agree to waive the requirement for formal administration, The Mutual Bank is under no obligation to release the Member’s funds unless a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration has been obtained.
Powers of Attorney and Authorities to Operate are only valid during the lifetime of the Member. When we receive notice that a Member has passed away, we will remove any existing authorities on the Member’s accounts.
When we receive notification that the Member has passed away, we will place a freeze on the Member’s account(s). During this period, withdrawals cannot be made from the Member’s account(s) except to pay for funeral expenses, tax or fees payable into Court when applying for Probate or Letters of Administration.
Deposits into an account will continue to be accepted up until the account is closed.
We are able to pay Funeral Expenses from the available Estate funds if we are provided with the original tax invoice from the Funeral Director.
Funeral Expenses do not include the cost of headstones, wakes or any other expenses.
A joint account will not have a freeze placed on it. The surviving joint holder will still be able to access the account until the accounts have been finalised.
If the Member was the Primary Joint Account Holder, the account will be closed and transferred to the surviving Secondary Joint Account Holder once the appropriate account opening documentation has been completed.
The Member’s name will be removed from the account once we have received a Certified copy of the Member’s Death Certificate.
In most cases we are able to release account funds before the maturity of the Term Deposit if we have received the required Estate documentation.
As the circumstances of each business may vary, please contact our Estate Management Team via phone 1300 688 825 or email DeceasedEstates@themutual.com.au
All interest-bearing accounts will continue to accrue interest until the release of funds.
A mortgage, whether it is held individually or jointly, will not cease upon death, and may need to be refinanced. Contact one of our Personal Banking Managers to discuss the available options.
A personal loan or credit card, whether it is held individually or jointly, will not cease upon death and may need to be refinanced. Contact one of our Personal Banking Managers to discuss the available options.
All loan repayments must continue under the Loan Agreement. However, you can contact our Personal Banking Managers to discuss the available options.
The Member’s account(s) remain frozen until all required documentation is received and finalised. In the event that the Executors, or Administrators, or Next of Kin require an “Estate of the Late” account to be opened, and have provided a formal request to do so, we may open an account in the name of Executors or Administrators or Next of Kin ATF “Estate of the Late”.
As the circumstances of Estates vary, so does the amount of time taken to finalise them. However, the earlier we receive all the required documentation and information, as per The Mutual Bank’s requirements, the quicker we will be able to finalise the Estate.
We release Estate funds by way of bank cheque made payable to the “Estate of the Late (Member)”, or by crediting an account at The Mutual Bank which you have opened in the name of the “Estate of the Late (Member)”.
We may however agree (at our absolute discretion) to release Estate funds, by way of electronic funds transfer (EFT), to the trust account of your Lawyer, or to an “Estate of the Late (Member)” account which you have opened at another bank.
Should you request release of Estate funds by way of EFT to an account (other than your Lawyer’s trust account) at another bank, we will require (to our satisfaction) a statement from that bank confirming that the account is an Estate of the Late account, that it is in the name of the deceased, and that all Executors, Administrators or (as the case may be) Next of Kin, are the holders of that account.
