Steps to help manage a deceased estate
1. Get in touch and let us know
You should notify BCU Bank as soon as you can about the death of a loved one by calling us on 1300 228 228 or visiting your nearest branch. You will also need to complete a Notification of Deceased Member form.
Download Notification of Deceased Member form - PDF (54 kB)
If you are visiting a branch, please bring along all required documentation and identification required.
You'll need the original or a certified copy of the Death Certificate and Last Will and Testament. You may also need to apply for a Grant of Probate from the Supreme Court, granting you the authority to administer the deceased person’s estate as executor.
Once you notify us and provide us with the relevant documents, we will:
- Release details of the deceased's accounts to the recognised legal representative of the estate (ie executor or administrator).
- Restrict any accounts, credit cards and overdrafts held in the deceased's name only, so no further transactions can occur. If an account is in joint names, a surviving joint owner may continue operating it as per normal if it has been established with either party authorised to sign. Our branch staff may assist in arranging for the account to be amended to be in the other account holder's name only. If there are any joint loans or credit cards, we will contact you in relation to them.
You may also need to inform several different organisations of the deceased's passing. These could include any other financial institutions, relevant government departments (such as Services Australia and the Australian Taxation Office), as well as insurance, superannuation and utility companies. The Australian Death Notification Service can help you get in touch with multiple organisations at once using a single online process.
2. Identify the estate assets
One of the challenging tasks for an executor is figuring out the estate’s assets and debts (what they owned, and what they owed). You'll need to list everything the deceased owned or was entitled to – like bank accounts, property, cars, stocks, investments, superannuation, and more.
3. Organise funeral and additional expenses
Once you've determined the estate's assets and debts, payment may be required for outstanding debts. This could include funeral and administration costs, outstanding bills, loan payments, taxes (like income tax), and more.
Opening a bank account in the estate's name – called an Estate of the Late account – could help you keep track of the assets sold and debts paid.
You'll likely need to reach out to various organisations to request information on outstanding debts. Additionally, you may have to publish a notice asking for people with a claim against the estate to step forward.
4. Finalise the accounts
Once all the estate debts are settled, the remaining assets can be distributed to the beneficiaries named in the Last Will and Testament. If the deceased person didn't leave a Will, beneficiaries may be determined in accordance with the relevant state’s legislation.
Because we're here to help
Got a question about deceased estates?
If you have a friend or family member who has passed away and they are a member of BCU, please contact us to let us know as soon as possible.
You'll need to complete the Notification of a Deceased Member form and return it to us at mail@bcu.com.au or at your nearest bcu branch.
Download Notification of Deceased Member form - PDF (54 kB)
You will also need to inform:
- Other financial institutions where the deceased holds accounts.
- Any relevant government departments such as the Department of Human Services, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Australian Taxation Office.
- Insurance, superannuation and utility providers.
To be able to finalise their accounts, we will need to receive documentation and instructions from the executor(s) or authorised administrator/next of kin(s) of the estate.
You can bring original documents to any bcu branch. Our staff are able to copy and certify the copies of original documents for the purposes of finalising the estate.
Please find below a list of documents that may be required to finalise the estate. Understandably, you may not be able to access all of the below documents at once.
- Death Certificate
- Last Will and Testament
- Grant of Probate may be required where the member has a Will and held more than our specified amount in deposit accounts at bcu. For your information the executor(s) must apply for the Probate.
- Letters of Administration may be required if there is no valid Will and the Member held more than our specified amount in deposit accounts. Generally, it is the deceased’s spouse or next of kin that will apply for Letters of Administration.
- Identification documents (if you are not an existing account holder of bcu).
- Written instructions from the executor(s)/administrator for the finalising of deposit accounts.
- A Next of Kin Claim, if there is no valid Will and the member held less than our specified amount in deposit accounts.
We may be able to pay the outstanding funeral account, as evidenced by a tax invoice from the funeral home. If sufficient funds are available, bcu will debit funds from the estate and pay the invoice amount to the funeral home directly.
If you do not have any of the above documentation, please seek independent legal advice.
Note: The above list is a guide only and may change depending on the specific requirements of an estate.
If you present the original documents at your local branch, our staff can assist you in certifying copies for BCU Bank purposes only.
You can find out more information on who can certify official documents on our Certification Form.
If the deceased member did not leave a Last Will and Testament (or the document cannot be located), an original or certified copy of Letters of Administration may be required.
bcu’s requirement to finalise the deceased estate will depend on whether the value of the deceased member's assets held at bcu is higher than our specified amount.
Letters of Administration are issued by the Supreme Court to ascertain who should administer the deceased member's estate. This is designed to protect the deceased member's assets and provide permission to a named administrator to gain the information required to administer the estate.
To assist with the requirements of the application, you may need to seek independent legal advice.
If funds are required from the deceased's account to pay for funeral expenses, please present a formal tax invoice from the funeral home to your local branch. Our staff will arrange to make the payment to the funeral directors.
If there is not sufficient funds held to cover the full invoice amount, we will close the membership and account/s and pay the balance as part payment.
Expenses for things such as flowers, the wake, headstone and memorials cannot be paid or claimed from the Deceased's accounts.
If an account is held in a single name only, all accounts, credit cards and overdrafts will be restricted, and no further transactions may occur.
A surviving joint owner may continue operating an account as per normal if the account has been established with either party authorised to sign. Our branch staff may assist in arranging for the account to be amended to the sole survivor's name only. We will contact you in relation to any joint lending.
As circumstances are different for each member, there is no specific timeframe for settling a Deceased's membership. We are required to wait a minimum of 30 days from date of death to close and finalise deceased accounts if surplus funds are held after meeting funeral costs.
Once all required documentation has been provided, our staff will assist in arranging for the membership and accounts to be closed and disbursed.
You may like to open an "estate of the late" account and have the funds released to it. An "estate of the late" account is used when an executor requires an account to be opened to collect/manage the estate of a deceased person.
Cheques made payable to the deceased or cheques made payable to the ‘estate of the late’ may be deposited to an "estate of the late" account.
This is usually due to the complexity of the estate or the instructions in the Will, which results in the estate not being able to be finalised for some time.
If there is no Last Will and Testament, you may be required to provide BCU with original or certified copies of the Letters of Administration.
Letters of Administration are documents issued by the Supreme Court, giving authority to a legal representative (in most cases the next of kin) to collect and distribute the assets of the estate, in the absence of a valid Last Will and Testament.
There are a number of people and organisations that can help you while you are going through this difficult time and you shouldn’t hesitate to reach out for support while you are grieving.