s12oux

Hi
I'm a newbie here but would be very grateful for any advice.
My stepmother lived and died in Spain a couple of months ago, leaving the house to me. I live in the Uk and have no Spanish bank account. Her bank account with Santander is all set up with direct debits etc to fund the running costs. How can I get that account transferred to my name so I can manage it?

Any replies gratefully received

bobd22

I would think you would have to set up a new account in your own name and transfer or set up direct debits. Can't see that you will be able to simply change the name. Once the bank know that your stepmother has passed away I believe that by law the account will be frozen? Then of course. Any money etc would be inheritance. I may be wrong but I would speak to the bank manager.

s12oux

Thank you Bob. I have a lawyer there and have left it to him . he seems to think the account could be transferred to me, with my proper ID of course and he has power of attorney for me. But he doesn't seem sure so I thought I'd see what the nice people on this forum have to say

bobd22

Yes a good solicitor will sort the whole thing out including bank and ongoing payments etc.It may well be that the account can be transferred.

snikpoh

I think your problem will be that she would have had a resident's account whereas you will need a non-resident account. As they are different, you may as well start again from scratch and ask the bank to move all direct debits from one account to the other.

Rosemary

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

bobd22

Yes that did cross my mind assuming they had been resident. As OP as a solicitor I am sure the matter will be resolved, sadly these things happen and have to be resolved. I am presuming it is still the case that accounts are still frozen even if joint with a surviving partner?

snikpoh

Strangely, I was talking about this with (Spanish) friends a couple of days ago and they said NOT - other party should still be able to use the account.

Loafing Along

Other party can use 50% of the account while estate being sorted I believe is the way banks deal with such situations in Spain

Fred James

I can confirm that based on info from a recently bereaved friend.

Rosemary

Not always, it depends very much on the attitude of the manager, he can decide not to freeze the account at all My bank manager told me that he had no intention of freezing our joint account when Graham died as he did not believe in causing difficulties such as this for people.

Rosemary

bobd22

Thanks for that information which does make more sense than a blanket freeze.