I’ve lost someone close, what do I need to do?

Losing someone close can be an incredibly emotional and difficult time. When it comes to knowing what to do, the list can seem endless and overwhelming. We’ve prepared some guides to help you manage the first steps and look after your own health. What steps do I need to take? We’ve prepared a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the first steps after you lose someone close What can Suncorp Bank do to help? We want to do what we can to help you through this difficult time. Our help guide outlines what we will do to assist you through the process of closing your loved one’s financial affairs Where can I find extra support? If you need emotional or financial support, there’s help out there for you. You can contact Customer Support on 07 3135 3525 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm AEST) or email them to get the assistance you need.

Losing someone close can be an incredibly emotional and difficult time. When it comes to knowing what to do, the list can seem endless and overwhelming. We’ve prepared some guides to help you manage the first steps and look after your own health.

What steps do I need to take? We’ve prepared a step-by-step guide to help you navigate the first steps after you lose someone close
What can Suncorp Bank do to help? We want to do what we can to help you through this difficult time. Our help guide outlines what we will do to assist you through the process of closing your loved one’s financial affairs
Where can I find extra support? If you need emotional or financial support, there’s help out there for you.

You can contact Customer Support on 07 3135 3525 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm AEST) or email them to get the assistance you need.

Without a Will, your loved one’s Estate is considered to be ‘intestate’. This means that the rules of intestacy will be applied to divide their assets.

If the Estate is under $5001.00 with no Loan accounts, Letters of Administration are not required and the Next of Kin will be the authorised party to act of behalf of the Estate.

For any Estates with a total value above $5000.00, or an Estate with Loan accounts, Letters of Administration will be required when there is no Will. In this instance, the Administrator will be the authorised party to act on behalf of the Estate. The authorised party will be responsible for gathering all relevant documents and requirements to help with settling the Estate.

For further information regarding documents required for the Estate or the authorised person to act on behalf of the Estate, please refer to the Deceased Estate Pack (PDF, 182KB).

If you haven’t managed someone else’s finances before, it can be overwhelming. Please contact us on Customer Support on 07 3135 3525 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm AEST) to find out how we can assist you with the process.

Each Estate is different. Some Estates will take a short amount of time to finalise, others will be more complicated. The process may be sped up if we receive all the right documents and information in a timely manner, along with a signed Deceased Notification Form (PDF, 442KB).

Once we receive notice of your loved one’s passing, along with the correct documentation, we will act on your instructions within 14 days. This means we’ll be able to provide access to information about your loved one’s assets and start assisting you with the process of closing their accounts and settling their debts. Keep in mind, we can only grant this access if you are the authorised person to act of behalf of the Estate.

To find out what documents and information is required for the Estate, please refer to the Deceased Estate Pack (PDF, 182KB) or the Deceased Notification Form (PDF, 442KB).

Once we have been notified that an account holder has passed away, a hold will be placed on their deposit account(s). (Note: This hold will not be applied for joint account unless the account is a Line of Credit, Asset Line or Overdraft account). This means that no funds can be withdrawn from the account and all recurring payments and direct debits will be stopped. Credit payments can continue to be paid into the account if transferred from an external bank.

During this time withdrawals cannot be made except for approved Just Debt or Funeral payments. Please note that once the hold has been placed on the deceased’s account this will prevent any transfers or credits into the account from another Suncorp Bank account. However, deposits from external banks can be made into the account(s) up until the account is closed.

Note: From the date of death, all Power of Attorney & Third Party signing authorities authorised on behalf of the deceased will be removed from the account.

Losing someone close can be tough. But you don’t have to go through it alone. There are many organisations you can reach out to for bereavement support.

Find help at:
Beyondblue website or call them on 1300 224 636
LifeLine website or call them on 13 11 14
Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement website or call them on 1800 642 066

Find other helpful resources.

If your loved one’s Credit Card or Home Loan was jointly linked with you, the responsibility for that debt passes on to you.

If your loved one’s Credit Card or Home Loan was held in their name solely, the person authorised to act on behalf of the Estate will need to contact us to help with next steps. Remember, you’ll first need to notify us of the account holder’s passing. You may also need to cancel any direct debits attached to a Credit Card or supply further documentation connected to an existing loan.

For assistance with your Credit Card please call NAB, who are the providers for Suncorp Bank Credit Cards on 1800 268 077 (9am-9pm, Mon-Fri, AEST) to get the assistance you need for any loans.

It depends on what type of account you held together jointly. If the funds are in a deposit account, they won’t be included as part of the Estate. This means you’ll still be able to access them as the surviving account holder.

Personal Term Deposits must continue to be held by at least one customer over the age of 18. If the joint account was a Credit Card, personal Loan, home loan, business, or investment loan, other debt repayment arrangements may need to be made. You can contact Customer Support on 07 3135 3525 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm AEST) or email them to find out more information.

If a child is 11 or under and a Custodian/Adult on the account passes away, the funds will not form part of the estate and will be held in the child’s account. A hold will be placed on the account to limit access until the Custodian/Adult is replaced on the account. If the child is 12 or over, the deceased custodian/adult will be removed from the account and the child will become the primary account holder. Personal Term Deposits must continue to be held by at least one customer over the age of 18.

No debits will be permitted once a hold has been placed on the account. We will provide you with a list of all recurring payments and direct debits for each deposit account(s). This list will be mailed to the authorised person or Next of Kin for the Estate. We will also assist you with handling any direct debits on the account however, you can also contact the merchant. For any recurring payments on the account, the authorised party will need to contact the providers to make alternative arrangements (this includes cancelling the authority on any regular debit transactions.)

If the Term Deposit is in your loved one’s name only, the account will become part of the Estate. If funds are required for payment of a Just Debt (e.g. funeral costs or outstanding rate payments), we can release money before the Term Deposit maturity date to cover these expenses.

When finalising your loved one’s accounts, the funds from the Term Deposit can be released as part of the Estate instructions or we will also offer the Executor or Administrator, the option to reinvest these funds in a new Term Deposit opened in the name of the Estate. Suncorp Bank will match the interest rate from the previous Term Deposit account, for the remaining duration of the term. Letters of Administration or a Grant of Probate will be required to be provided prior to opening this account.

Should you choose to open this Term Deposit account the new account will be subject to the account Terms and Conditions. Should you require access to the funds held in the Term Deposit during this new term once these funds have been reinvested, we will be unable to waive the applicable Administration Fee, and a 30 day timeframe for cancellation and release of funds will apply. For further information, please contact Customer Support on 07 3135 3525 (Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm AEST).

If your loved one had a Home Loan (either solely or jointly) or Small Business Loan, we’ll be in contact with you directly after receiving notification of their passing. We may require further documentation to proceed with finalising this portion of the Estate.

National Australia Bank Limited (ABN 12 004 044 937, AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 230686) (“NAB”) is the credit provider and issuer of Suncorp Bank Clear Options Credit Cards. If your loved one held a Suncorp Bank Clear Options Credit Card, NAB will contact you directly after receiving notification of their passing. If you’re the authorised party, you’ll be advised on what the next steps are for any debt attributed to this account/s. Please call us on 1800 268 077 (9am-9pm, Mon-Fri, AEST) for further information.

Yes, all outstanding loan repayments must continue until the loan is repaid. We recommend that you seek legal guidance before you consider making any voluntary repayments while the Estate is being finalised.

Should you have any concerns about meeting the minimum monthly repayments please contact Customer Assist on 1800 225 223 (Mon-Fri, 8.30am-5pm, AEST), or you relationship manager, if applicable.

As the loan will not cease upon death, it may need to be refinanced. To discuss your option and for more information, please contact Customer Support on 07 3135 3525 (Mon-Fri 9am -5pm AEST), or your relationship manager, if applicable.

If you’re experiencing financial difficulty, we’re here to help you get back on track. Please contact us on 07 3167 9668 (8:30am-5pm, Mon-Fri, AEST) or find out how to submit a request for assistance.

If your loved one or business associate has any business loans and they have a Relationship Manager, please contact their (or your) Relationship Manager to discuss how the accounts will be managed.

A Will is a legal document that determines what you want to happen to your assets after you die. It will also name one or more people, the ‘Executor/s’, as responsible for the process until it’s finalised.

A Beneficiary is someone who is listed on a Will as being entitled to a portion of the deceased person’s assets or income. Beneficiaries of Estates have rights which are protected by law, including the right to be notified of your entitlements.

A certified copy is a copy of an original document that has been verified as being a true copy. To have your document certified, you must take the original to be sighted and the copy signed by an authorised person. If you bring your original documentation in to a Suncorp Bank branch, one of our staff should be able to verify it for you and pass this along to Customer Support who will assist with the Estate.

A lot of people can also help you with certified documents, including: