I hold Power of Attorney for a customer who has died. Can I access their accounts after their death?

Yes. All the attorneys outlined in the Power of Attorney document can act on the account holder’s behalf.

For attorneys appointed “jointly”, each attorney must complete and send us the Power of Attorney Mandate Form(PDF) before we let any attorney act on the account holder’s behalf.

Attorneys appointed “jointly” must all act together on all matters. Attorneys appointed “jointly and severally” can act either together or individually.

The following people can certify a Power of Attorney document:

• The donor (if they have mental capacity) – the donor must write “I certify this is a true and complete copy of the corresponding page of the original lasting power of attorney.” on every page of the copy and on the final page must write “I certify this is a true and complete copy of the lasting power of attorney.”
• A solicitor
• Post Office – a fee may be charged for using this service
• Accountants with a current ‘practicing’ membership, registered with ICAEW, ICAS, CAI, ACCA, CIPFA or CIMA.
• A person authorised to carry out notarial activities
• Bank staff (must include branch stamp)

Certifiers must clearly write that they have seen the original document. They must also include their full name, profession, business address, phone number and the date they certified the document.

Please note that we must be sent all pages of the certified copy of the document in colour. It must be certified on every page, and must have been certified within the past 3 months.

• If you complete a paper Bereavement Notification Form(PDF), please enclose an original or certified copy of the Death Certificate with this.
• If you complete the Bereavement Notification Form(PDF) digitally, we ask you to upload a clear scan or photograph of the Death Certificate with it. We aim to verify these copies against information from the General Register Office and will let you know when this is complete.
  Where this is not possible, we will ask you to send us an original or certified copy of the Death Certificate. You only need to send this to us if we ask for it.

• If you are a personal representative of the customer who has died, please let us know if they operated any Triodos Business accounts. You can provide the account numbers or company name(s) on the Bereavement Notification Form(PDF), if you know them. We will block their account access straight away. You may also notify us by phone.
• If you represent the business, you may also notify us by phone. If an account operator has died, the remaining account operator(s) should complete a Business Banking change of account operator form - current, deposit, and loans(PDF) as soon as possible. We will update the account mandate and internet banking access, as appropriate.
• Where the late customer was the only account operator on the account(s) of a business that will continue to operate, we will require further documentation from the directors of the company, in addition to the Death Certificate. Please call us to discuss the circumstances on 0330 355 0355, or +44 117 9739339 if calling from abroad.
• Sole trader accounts may be closed by completing an Account Closure form, which we will provide to the personal representatives when they send us the Bereavement Notification Form.
• If the late customer was an ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) for a business account (including trusts), we will ask for the Death Certificate and any relevant Grant of Representation.

• Please complete a Bereavement Notification Form(PDF) and send it to us by post or email with a copy of the Death Certificate.
• Before we can close the accounts, we may ask for a Grant of Letters of Administration to confirm that you have the authority to manage them.
• We’ll ask you to upload your identity documents via an electronic identification service. If you’re unable to do this, please call us.

• When you’re ready to close the accounts, please complete a Closure Form. We’ll send this to you by post, and you can also download a copy from the website.
  

Where a legal firm has been appointed as executor of the estate, most of the process stays the same. A solicitor should complete the Bereavement Notification Form(PDF) and give their name, company name and contact details. We’ll check the firm and their role, but we won’t ask them for identity documents. If a solicitor is appointed to manage the estate, the solicitor’s firm will carry out customer due diligence, including checking the identity of the representatives or executors. We’ll only ask for verification of these representatives if, when the accounts are closed, the money is being paid into a representative’s account and not into the solicitor’s client account.

If personal representatives or executors have been appointed and have not yet been verified, they’ll need to complete an identity verification check via our secure biometric service with Experian. We’ll send this verification check to them by email, so there’s no need to send ID to us by post, unless they can’t complete the ID steps digitally.

You only need to send us one notification form for all their accounts. We will send you a valuation of all the accounts if you request it on the Bereavement Notification Form(PDF). This is the first step in notifying us that the customer has passed away. Please note that some accounts can take longer to pay out than others. For example, it can take longer to sell investments and have the proceeds paid out. You can specify whether you would prefer to have everything paid out at the same time on the Bereavement Notification Form. Please also be aware that some Depository Receipt holdings and Crowdfunding accounts can only be transferred to a new holder. 

If the customer who has died only had Joint accounts or Business accounts, we don't require the Bereavement Notification Form, just a copy of the Death Certificate. However, if the customer held a sole trader business account, the Bereavement Notification Form is required.

We’re aware that many other financial providers offer this as an option in different forms, and with different levels of restrictions on what an appointed third party can do when the mandate is in place.

We stopped offering our own version of this mandate in March 2022. It can lead to issues over safeguarding of a customer’s money when such a mandate is in place. We are reviewing whether we might re-introduce this option in the future. 

The process remains the same as for UK residents, however proof of identity and address documents must be certified by an Embassy, Consulate or High Commission from the country where the documents were issued.

Please be aware that we don’t accept original passports or driving licences by post. Therefore, you may prefer to send certified copy documents by recorded or tracked delivery to ensure they don’t get lost in the post. But be aware, most delivery companies will charge for this service.

Our address is:
Bereavement Team
Triodos Bank
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AS
UK

If Probate is required, it must be obtained from the UK as we cannot accept overseas Probate documents for funds held here. You may wish to seek legal advice about how to arrange this, as we cannot provide advice on individual circumstances.

When the accounts are closed, the funds will be paid out in pounds sterling. Exchange rates and fees may apply if we are asked to pay funds overseas.

Joint accounts will remain open in the name of the surviving account holder who will be able to use the accounts as usual. In cases where the deceased only held a joint Triodos account and no sole accounts, please send us a copy of the Death Certificate so we can update our records. We will only need a Bereavement Notification Form(PDF) if the customer also held sole accounts in their own name. 

‘Joint accounts’ here refers to Personal Current Accounts (for daily banking), Personal Savings Accounts and Impact Investment Accounts. For business accounts, you’ll need to complete a Change of account operator form(PDF).

To notify us that a customer with a joint account has passed away, please email a scanned copy of the Death Certificate to [email protected]. If this isn’t possible, you can post an original or a certified copy to us at ‘Bereavement Team, Triodos Bank, Deanery Road, Bristol, BS1 5AS’. 

Please note, you may want to send original or certified documents by recorded or tracked delivery to ensure they don’t get lost in the post. But be aware, most delivery companies will charge for this service. Alternatively, you can send documents to ‘FREEPOST Triodos Bank’ - this is all you need to write on the envelope. This is a second class service with no stamp required.

Any Triodos Impact Fund Investments, whether held in an Impact Investment Account or Triodos Stocks and Shares ISA, will need to be sold and the proceeds transferred to a bank account chosen by the executor. Unfortunately, we’re not able to transfer the existing investments to a new investment account or beneficiary at the moment.

Please note that until the Triodos Impact Fund Investments are sold, they will remain invested which means their value may change. With any investment, there’s the risk that you could get back less than initially invested.

ISA accounts will be closed 3 years and 1 day after the date of death, if an instruction to close the ISA has not been received from the representatives of the estate, to comply with HMRC rules.

You can find more information on Triodos Impact Investments, Impact Investment Accounts, and Stocks and Shares ISAs at www.triodos.co.uk/impact-investments.

Triodos Crowdfunding investments may be transferred to a new investment holder, who will need to open a Crowdfunding account if they do not already have one. It is sometimes possible to redeem the investments (have them paid out) instead of transferring them. This is ultimately at the discretion of the directors of the company that issued the investment.

You can indicate on the Bereavement Notification Form(PDF) whether you would like the investments to be transferred or redeemed. 

If you select the option to redeem, we will contact the issuing company to request this. Once we have received a response, we will let you know if the redemption is possible or if the investments must be transferred.

You can find more information on crowdfunding investments at www.triodoscrowdfunding.co.uk.

The following people can certify documents for you:

• Accountants with a current ‘practicing’ membership, registered with ICAEW, ICAS, CAI, ACCA, CIPFA or CIMA.
• Solicitors
  
• Bank staff (must include branch stamp)

• Post Office (Please check their website Document Certification Service | Post Office® or with your local branch as they are not able to certify all document types)

Please note a fee may be charged for using any of these services

Certifiers must clearly write that they have seen the original document. For photo ID, they must confirm that the photograph represents a true likeness of the individual. They must include their full name, profession, business address, phone number and the date they certified the document).

Certified copies must be in colour and include the certifier’s original signature. The certification must have been completed within the last 3 months.

Please note that you can request additional official copies of Birth, Marriage or the Death Certificates at the time you obtain the original from the Register Office. You may also request official copies at a later date from the General Register Office: Order a copy of a birth, death or marriage certificate (www.gov.uk).

You may prefer to send original or certified documents by recorded or tracked delivery to ensure they don’t get lost in the post. But be aware, most delivery companies will charge for this service. 

Our address is:

Bereavement Team
Triodos Bank
Deanery Road
Bristol
BS1 5AS

Alternatively, you can send documents to ‘FREEPOST Triodos Bank’ - this is all you need to write on the envelope. This is a second class service with no stamp required.

Before the accounts can be closed, we require formal verification of the death (normally a Death Certificate); proof of Legal Representation (such as a Grant of Representation or a Will); and proof of identify and address from the personal representatives. Please read the Bereavement Notification form (download below) for more information. This explains the other documents we need and the next steps in the process.

To let us know about the death of a customer, please:

• complete a Bereavement Notification form (download below)
• send this to us by email or by post, along with a copy of the Death Certificate.

If you are a Triodos customer, you can notify us by sending us a chat message in the app or Internet Banking. Please make sure to provide the deceased customer's full name and account number so that the information is recorded against the correct customer.

If you have any questions, please call us on 0330 355 0355 (or +44 117 973 9339 if calling from abroad).

After you have notified us that they have died, we will provide you with a Closure form to complete. This can be used to close all personal accounts, although some Crowdfunding investments may not be eligible for closure and must be transferred. Please see our FAQ to find out more: What will happen to any Crowdfunding investments held by a customer who has died?

The sale of Depository Receipts may also be restricted; please refer to our Depository Receipts page for up-to-date information, or see our FAQ to find out more: What will happen to any Depository Receipts held by a customer who has died?

Related Downloads:

 Bereavement Notification Form(PDF).

For someone who already has a Triodos account
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We need proof of the Power of Attorney before we can let the attorney act on the account holder’s behalf. Please send us:

• The original or a certified copy of the Power of Attorney document or Lasting Power of Attorney access code
• Power of Attorney Mandate Form(PDF)

We need proof of the Power of Attorney and a completed application form before we can open the account and let the attorney act on the account holder’s behalf. Please send us:

• The original or a certified copy of the Power of Attorney document, or Lasting Power of Attorney access code and the relevant application form.

Application for a Triodos Current Account with a Power of Attorney form(PDF)

Application for a Triodos Ethical Savings Bond with a Power of Attorney form(PDF)

Application for a Triodos Online Saver/Online Saver Plus with a Power of Attorney form(PDF)

Application for a Triodos Online Cash ISA/Fixed rate ISA with a Power of Attorney form(PDF)

You may prefer to send original or certified documents by recorded or tracked delivery to ensure they don’t get lost in the post. But be aware, most delivery companies will charge for this service.

Write our full address exactly as shown below on your envelope (appropriate stamp required):

Triodos Bank
Deanery Road
Bristol 
BS1 5AS

Alternatively, you can send the required documents by using our freepost address – write it exactly as shown below on your envelope (no stamp required):

Freepost TRIODOS BANK

Most of the documents we request from you will be the same. However, in Scotland the Grant of Representation / Probate is referred to as the “Certificate of Confirmation”. Find out more on What to do after a death in Scotland (gov.scot). 

We can release funds from personal accounts to pay Inheritance Tax (IHT) when needed. If you are an administrator or executor, you may request that we pay HMRC directly from the accounts of the customer who has died. This is called the ‘Direct Payment Scheme’.

Before we can release funds for IHT, we require the Death Certificate and a completed IHT423 form. We also require at least one of the legal representatives to have passed our ID checks. You can obtain the form from HMRC – please follow the instructions on the Government website: Pay your Inheritance Tax bill from the deceased's bank account (www.gov.uk). 

We will send the payment directly to HMRC, up to the balance of the eligible accounts. We recommend that you review how much is left in the accounts before requesting this.

An Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) allows a surviving spouse or civil partner a one-off ISA subscription equal to the total value of the deceased ISAs at the date of their death. This needs to be completed within three years of the date of death.

Unfortunately, we’re unable to accept an APS into a Triodos ISA, or facilitate an APS transfer to another provider. We can provide a one-off valuation of the deceased’s Triodos ISAs on date of death for an APS. This can be shared with other ISA providers who accept APS upon request. You can find out more about APS’s on the government website: Manage additional permitted subscriptions into an ISA.

Yes, so long as we have already received details of the Power of Attorney so that we have proof in place that you are legally entitled to act on our customer's behalf.

You will need to complete the Personal data rights request form below with the details of our customer on whose behalf you are making the request and add a cover letter with your own details (name, address, relationship to the person you are making the request about). We will also need you to enclose proof of your identity. You can contact us for a list of what documents are acceptable for confirming your identity.