Deceased Estates.

Managing accounts.

To access your loved one’s account information including direct debits, recurring payments and any ongoing fees, we require a few documents.
 
This is to help us verify that you are the Executor/s, Administrator/s or Next of Kin for the Estate or a Solicitor acting on behalf of the Estate.

To help us verify that we can provide you with account information, you will need to provide us with the following documents together with the Deceased Customer Notification form:

• An original certified copy of the last Will (if available)
• An original certified copy of the Death Certificate or other evidence if a Death Certificate is not yet available (e.g. a copy of the funeral invoice, or an original certified copy of a medical certificate or coroner’s report);
• If there is no valid Will and you have applied for Letters of Administration, but this has not yet been granted, an original certified copy of the affidavit lodged in support of the grant of Letters of Administration.

If you are an existing customer with ME, please advise one of our consultants when you call us.

Arranging funeral expenses.

Arranging funeral expenses.

Up to $20,000 of the family member or friends funds can be directed towards paying funeral expenses. This amount can also be used to reimburse an Executor or Administrator who paid for a funeral expense.

Any amounts above $20,000 can only be distributed through a grant of probate (where a valid Will exists) or letters of administration (where no valid Will exists).

To arrange funeral expenses, please provide us with the following documents:

• A copy of the funeral invoice
• Or a copy of the funeral receipt/s
• A completed Release of Assets for a Funeral form.

Deceased Estates Required Steps.

Step 1 – Notify us.

If you haven’t already done so, you or your solicitor can let us know when someone has passed away. We will require any of the following documents to commence our actions: a certified copy of the Death Certificate, doctor’s medical certificate, funeral bill, solicitor’s or Coroner’s letter.

Depending on the circumstances we may also require a certified copy of the Will, Grant of Probate, or Letters of Administration.

You will also need to identify yourself with photo identification (i.e. licence, proof of age card, passport).

Contact us on 13 15 63

Step 2 –ME will review the Estate.

ME will conduct a review of accounts and facilities held by the deceased. Depending on the amount of funds in the deceased person's account, and the State or Territory in which the account is held, you may need to provide additional information or take further steps (such as applying for a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration). 

Step 3 – ME will write to you.

ME will write to you if you are:-

• The executor appointed under a will.
• A person identified as a next of kin in the death certificate or other official document acceptable to us.
• An Administrator who has applied for and been granted letters of Administration or
• A solicitor acting on behalf of one of these people,

and, you have provided us with a copy of the Death Certificate then we will act on your instructions within 14 days, by providing you with details of the accounts (including information about ongoing account fees) and facilities solely and jointly owned by the deceased.

We will also let you know what requirements need to be fulfilled before we release funds held in the accounts.

We will also advise you of any outstanding loans or debts that are owed to us as part of finalising the deceased estate. 

Step 4 – Complete requirements.

You will need to complete and return all documents and requirements requested by ME including the Deceased Customer Notification form.

Step 5 – ME will release Estate funds.

If we have been notified of a customer’s death and we have the correct documentation, then if you are the executor named in a grant of probate or an administrator named in letters of administration we will act on your instructions about the deceased customer’s account within 14 days.

We will assist with finalising the deceased estate once all requirements have been met including:

• Release of Estate funds;
• Discharge of mortgages or other security over Estate assets (upon repayment of any outstanding loans);
• Facilitating the transfer or transmission of Estate assets to the Executor or Administrator as part of the administration of the Estate.

Additional documents and forms.

Depending on the circumstance, there may be additional forms and documents you will need to provide before we can finalise the Estate.
 
These documents and forms will be provided to you once we have verified that you are the Executor, Administrator or Next of Kin for the Estate.

Probate or Letters of Administration outside of Victoria.

If a grant of Probate or Letters of Administration has been obtained outside of the state of Victoria, you will also need to provide us with a completed Probate or Letters of Administration Outside of Victoria form.

Changes to home loans.

For home loan accounts, there will also be further documents that are required to make title changes and/or discharge the loan.
 
Please call us on 13 15 63 and we can discuss this process with you.

Please Note: Before we close and finalise any account in credit, we may apply funds in a transaction or savings account to pay out any credit cards or loans held in the sole name of the Deceased.

Next steps.

Next steps.

Once completed please post all of your supporting documents and forms to: 

Deceased Estates
GPO BOX 898
BRISBANE QLD 4001

Please allow up to 14 days for our team to process the documents and forms you have sent us and provide information in relation to the accounts.

We've put together a handy Glossary of Terms for you to refer to if you need help with any of the legal language on this page.