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International Joint Bank Accounts?

International Joint Bank Accounts?

Old Nov 3rd 2020, 11:50 am
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Default International Joint Bank Accounts?

Hi everyone,

I am English living in the UK and my partner is Spanish living in Spain. During these uncertain times, we want to make sure we are financially safe. Is it possible to set up a bank account in the UK which is joint with a Spanish citizen? He does not have an address here but we share our money for travel expenses and savings.
Which bank would you recommend?

Any help would be much appreciated.
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 3:59 am
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Hi, I

assume you already have a UK bank account?
Very easy to convert this to a joint account / open a second account with joint names at this or a.n.other bank of your choice.
Of course you will have to register your partner as living at your address.

You and your partner would both be able to access the account via online banking from Spain
M
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 4:19 am
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Emmaandrichi
.... Which bank would you recommend? .....
Which ever bank you aleady use - assuming that you have an established relationship and are in good standing, then adding your partner may be quite easy.

Opening a new account at a bank that is also new to you, might cause additional scrutiny, and therefore the bank might raise addtional questions about your partner and his address, especially if they notice that he has no right of residence in the UK.
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 6:10 am
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by missile
Hi, I

assume you already have a UK bank account?
Very easy to convert this to a joint account / open a second account with joint names at this or a.n.other bank of your choice.
Of course you will have to register your partner as living at your address.

You and your partner would both be able to access the account via online banking from Spain
M
Yes I have an English bank account.

What do you mean by registering my partner as living at my address? With Brexit, isn't that a little difficult? Where would I need to go to do that? Can I just tell the bank he lives with me?

thanks again
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 7:48 am
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Emmaandrichi
What do you mean by registering my partner as living at my address? With Brexit, isn't that a little difficult? Where would I need to go to do that? Can I just tell the bank he lives with me?
Banks usually check with online sources, like electoral register and credit record, about an individual. If neither returns a positive result, i.e. your partner is neither registered to vote at your address nor has credit record associated with that address, they often ask for other evidence, such as utility bills in your partner's name which include landline but not mobile bills. If you are legally married or in civil partnership, that might be enough for some banks. It's all to do with anti-money laundering regulations which they must abide by. You can start by putting some bills into joint name (usually quite easy to do online).
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 2:37 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Adding a second person to an established account shouldn't be a problem but in addition to the last post almost certainly it will require a signature so it's unlikely to be possible wholly remotely.

The problem with 'partner' is that it has absolutely no meaning in law.
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 4:03 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Notdunroamin
....The problem with 'partner' is that it has absolutely no meaning in law.
But there is no absolute reason why any two adults cannot have a joint account, they don't need to be married or have a quasi-marital relationship - for example they could be business partners, or operate a charitable organization.
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 4:41 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Pulaski
But there is no absolute reason why any two adults cannot have a joint account, they don't need to be married or have a quasi-marital relationship - for example they could be business partners, or operate a charitable organization.
That's what I was thinking. Also situations where a god parent might want to share funds with a child in another country. There are many situations why two people might want to share an account.
In my case, I really just want my savings to be available to us both, if I were to die there wouldn't be complicated paperwork.
I have written a will but not sure it will work as it says "in England" my accounts are English but my fiance happens to be Spanish.
Any thoughts?
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 5:52 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Emmaandrichi
That's what I was thinking. Also situations where a god parent might want to share funds with a child in another country. There are many situations why two people might want to share an account.
In my case, I really just want my savings to be available to us both, if I were to die there wouldn't be complicated paperwork.
I have written a will but not sure it will work as it says "in England" my accounts are English but my fiance happens to be Spanish.
Any thoughts?
One will is all you need, especially if your assets are in the UK (or any other one country).

Wills are invariably effective internationally, though need to be endorsed by the foreign court if you have assets in another country. This matter has been discussed frequently here on BE, with two schools of thought being: "one will is all you need" v "you should have one will for each country in which you have assets". I am firmly in the first camp - a will is "your last will and testament", and only one document can be "last", and IMHO you run the very real risk of creating legal complications and the potential for either your wishes not to be carried out and/or your beneficiaries to end up in court to settle the differences, so rather that making things "easier" (not needing to have your will endorsed in overseas jurisdiction(s)) in fact multiple wills can considerably complicate matters after your death.

Last edited by Pulaski; Nov 4th 2020 at 6:26 pm.
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 6:03 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

thanks for confirming my suspicion. My follow-up question is what does my partner do if I die? He has the will document. What is he supposed to do with it in the event of my death?
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Old Nov 4th 2020, 6:23 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Emmaandrichi
thanks for confirming my suspicion. My follow-up question is what does my partner do if I die? He has the will document. What is he supposed to do with it in the event of my death?
He'd probably need to apply for probate - see here for some guidance on the process in the UK. If you have assets in another country, say Spain, at the time of your death, then he would need to go through whatever the comparable process is in Spain to be allowed to execute your will for assets held there.

If he is not able to dealwith the process himself, either through lack of knoweldge, lack of understanding of the system, inadequate fluency in English, or not being in the UK at the time, he would probably be best advised to obtain the services of a solicitor to deal with the paperwork.
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Old Nov 5th 2020, 7:52 am
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Pulaski
He'd probably need to apply for probate - see here for some guidance on the process in the UK. If you have assets in another country, say Spain, at the time of your death, then he would need to go through whatever the comparable process is in Spain to be allowed to execute your will for assets held there.

If he is not able to dealwith the process himself, either through lack of knoweldge, lack of understanding of the system, inadequate fluency in English, or not being in the UK at the time, he would probably be best advised to obtain the services of a solicitor to deal with the paperwork.

I bought the will on amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-Last-Testament-Yourself-LegalPathTM/dp/B07LDB8SWY?pd_rd_w=L6WNC&pf_rd_p=647842ca-6a51-4ad0-998c-1f034dda84d8&pf_rd_r=GS5A86N9YCSH114VX72N&pd_rd_r=754d719f-13f4-4bc7-bfde-b5f48489322a&pd_rd_wg=VOBOT&pd_rd_i=B07LDB8SWY&ref_=pd_bap_d_rp_1_20_t
I had it witnessed and signed by two members of my church. I suppose he would need to find a British-based solicitor to enact the will?

Many thanks
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Old Nov 5th 2020, 10:46 am
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by Emmaandrichi
I bought the will on amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Essential-L...ap_d_rp_1_20_t

I had it witnessed and signed by two members of my church. I suppose he would need to find a British-based solicitor to enact the will?

Many thanks
Unless you own property or other assets which are not in joint names, no need for a solicitor
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Old Nov 5th 2020, 2:35 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

If you have to go through probate, that would be quite difficult if you don't live in the UK and/or aren't familiar with UK institutions.
If no property is left in the will, probate would hopefully not be necessary. This seems quite a good summary https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk...%20be%20needed.
For complicated reasons when my mum died her solicitor was appointed executor and his bill was eye-watering.
When my partner's dad died my partner was executor. He had to go through probate. It was all very time consuming and quite complicated because there were so many loose ends to tie up, but fortunately he had time to spend on it, and he is a patient methodical person and he is good at maths which helped. I guess it depends how simple or how complicated the person's finances are.

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Old Nov 5th 2020, 2:42 pm
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Default Re: International Joint Bank Accounts?

Originally Posted by EuroTrash
If you have to go through probate, that would be quite difficult if you don't live in the UK and/or aren't familiar with UK institutions.
If no property is left in the will, probate would hopefully not be necessary. This seems quite a good summary https://www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk...%20be%20needed.
For complicated reasons when my mum died her solicitor was appointed executor and his bill was eye-watering.
When my partner's dad died my partner was executor..
My solicitor is executor. On my to do list to update my will and make beneficiaries executors. They can employ a solicitor if they feel the need.
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