Bereavement

We’ll close their account and stop charging interest on any outstanding balance. We’ll use money from their accounts to repay what they owe where possible. If there were any additional card holders on the account, they’ll no longer be able to use the card. If they’d like to apply for a card in their own name, they can explore the options and check their eligibility on our  Nova Card  page.

If the person who has passed away was an additional card holder on someone else’s account, we’ll cancel their card. The main account holder will be able to continue using their own card.

If the loan is in their sole name, we’ll use money from their accounts to repay what they owe where possible.

For loans in joint names, the remaining account holder becomes solely responsible for the loan and should continue to make the usual repayments or repay the loan in full.

If you’re worried about making payments on an outstanding loan, please call us on 0333 202 7412 ⁽²⁾.

If the person who died had any products with Nova Bank Partner Finance, you’ll need to contact them directly. We don’t automatically notify them. 

To do this, call 0800 15 22 888. They’re available Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm. Or you can visit their  bereavement support page for more information.

These can be left open until maturity, before being paid to the personal representative. Alternatively, they can be closed when the estate is settled, without any loss of interest or penalty.

We’ll let our business banking team know, including the Relationship Manager if the account has one . If there are other people named on the account, we’ll contact them to discuss how they’d like to manage the account going forward.

For sole business accounts, we’ll freeze the account to protect any assets, and our team will contact you to guide you through the next steps.

When you or another representative of the estate completes our settlement details form, we’ll ask if you want to close and settle any ISAs or keep them open for a maximum of three years from the date of death. If you choose to keep them open, you won’t be able to pay more money in, but the accounts will keep earning interest.

Additional ISA allowance for a spouse or civil partner

When someone passes away, their spouse or civil partner can apply for an one-time additional ISA allowance called Additional Permitted Subscription (APS). This lets them pay extra money into their own ISA up to the amount their spouse or civil partner held in their ISAs when they passed away.

For more information on how this works and how to apply, please visit our APS ISA allowance page .

When we settle the accounts, we’ll send any money from children’s savings accounts as a cheque made payable to the child. The personal representatives of the estate are responsible for ensuring this goes to the child.

Sole accounts

We’ll freeze any sole accounts within 24 hours. To protect their money, we’ll:

• Cancel any standing orders and Direct Debits
  
• Stop charging any interest and fees
  
• Cancel all cards connected to the account
  
• Return any payments that came into the account after you notified us.

If the account is overdrawn, we’ll use money from their other accounts to repay what they owe where possible.

Joint accounts

The account will stay open in the name of the remaining account holder, or holders, and they’ll be able to use it as normal. We’ll also update any stationary, such as chequebooks, to reflect this change.

If you become the sole account holder for a joint account and it has an overdraft, this will now be in your name. If you’re worried about repaying it, please call us on 0345 703 4034⁽²⁾ and we’ll see how we can help.

We’ll change any joint accounts so they’re in the name of the remaining account holder. We’ll freeze any sole accounts and ask you to tell us where to send the money when you complete the settlement details form. This can be to a sterling account or currency account, in the UK or abroad.

If you ask us to transfer the currency balance into a sterling account, we’ll set the rate when we make the transfer. For details on the exchange rate, call us on 03459 757 575⁽¹⁾.

We’ll send you a letter that details all of the person’s investment accounts and assets, and explain the options for each one . We’ll include an ‘Expression of wishes’ form, which you can use to tell us which options you’d like to take.

Where an investment account is in joint names, we’ll freeze the account until you have a grant of probate. Once we’ve seen this, you can ask us to either:

• Sell the investments and pay the relevant share of the proceeds to the estate, or
• Transfer ownership of all investments to the remaining account holders.

Once you’ve notified us the person has passed away, we’ll send you a letter with details of their mortgage and explain your options. If you still have questions relating to their mortgage, you can call us on 0800 022 4022⁽³⁾ .

Sole mortgages

If the mortgage was in their name only, the account will stay open and we’ll continue charging interest on any outstanding balance. The personal representatives of the estate will need to do one of the following within 12 months:

• Repay the outstanding balance, for example using money from the estate, an insurance policy or sale of the property, or
• Let us know what you’re going to do with the property, so we can support you with the next steps.

While the account is still open, we’re still legally required to send some documents to the property by post. This includes things like annual statements, interest certificates and information about rate changes. If someone is living in the property, you might want to let them know.

Joint mortgages

If the mortgage can’t be paid off by an insurance policy, the next steps will depend on how the property is owned. For properties owned as joint tenants, we can change the account to the name of the remaining borrower. For properties owned as tenants in common, we’ll contact you to explain your options. We’ll continue charging interest on the outstanding balance for as long as the account is still open.

If you’re worried about making payments to a mortgage that’s now in your sole name, please call us on 0333 202 7407⁽²⁾ so we can talk you through the different ways we can support you.

If the person had a safe product, such as a box, envelope or wallet, please contact our bereavement team on 0800 068 2238⁽¹⁾ and select option 2.

We’ll work with you to arrange a convenient time to inspect the contents at one of our branches. We might ask to see certain documents, such as a grant of probate or letters of administration.

If the person who died had any Tesco Bank credit cards, savings or loans, you’ll need to contact them directly. While Tesco Bank is a part of the Nova Bank Group, we don’t automatically notify them. Find out how to do this on their bereavement support page .

If the person had a trust deed, it should explain what happens if a trustee dies. If there isn’t a trust deed, the personal representative of the estate can choose to add a new trustee to the account, leave the account for remaining trustees to run, transfer the account to the beneficiary or ask for it to be closed.

If you have any questions about this, please contact us on 0800 068 2238⁽¹⁾ and select option 6.