How Wife Can Access Retirement Account Upon Death

[kokesaat]

The closest I could come to an answer on this question was at

(a notarized will and a death certificate).

I went to the local branch of Siam Commercial Bank where I have one retirement account. The manager said my wife would only need a copy of the death certificate.....but he seemed surprised that anyone would ask such a question ('When I die?' doesn't seem to be the type of question a typical Thai would ask). He said the waiting time is about 30 days.

As many expats have retirement accounts (which means in the husband's name only), I wonder if our Bangkok Bank rep could weigh in and give a definitive answer to the question:

When an expat dies in Thailand, if he has a retirement account in his name only, exactly what documentation does his surviving wife need to gain access to his account? And, approximately how long would the waiting period be?

[thaimate]

my wife knows my pin number and the details of all my bank accounts ,but then we have been married a long time and trust each other

[Pib]

From the Bangkok Bank web site....see last Q&A on below link, which is also cut and pasted below. While I know the OP is with Siam Commercial Bank and while the answer is geared toward a relative in the deceased customer's home country, I think it may still provide the general answer the OP is looking for. Expect the wife would need to justify she is the beneficiary of the bank account/administrator of the deceased's estate. Recommend the OP rely on what the SCB folks tell him...expect SCB only requires the death certificate and a court document which identifies the wife as the administrator/beneficiary of the deceased's estate.

http://www.bangkokbank.com/Bangkok%20Bank/Personal%20Banking/Foreign%20Customers/Pages/FAQ%20new.aspx

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4. My relative passed away and had an account with Bangkok Bank. What is the process for closing the account and distributing the funds to the administrator of the estate?

In order to close the account of a deceased customer following documents must be sent to the Manager of the branch where the account was held:

1. Court order appointing the administrator of the deceased's estate

2. Power of Attorney (Required when requesting a solicitor to act on behalf of the Administrator)

3. Copy of the Death Certificate

4. Copy of the passport of the deceased

5. Certified true copy of passport of the Administrator

6. Original passbook formerly held by the deceased; and

7. A letter from the Administrator of the deceased's estate requesting Bangkok Bank to close the

account and transfer the balance. Please include the details for the payment i.e., name of the

beneficiary, account number, name of the bank where the account is held, SWIFT number for the

receiving bank, name and address of the branch where the account is held.

Should these documents be issued in a country outside of Thailand where the language use is

not English, they will have to be translated to Thai and Notarized by the Royal Thai Embassy/

Consulate in the country of issue.

*********************************

Edited March 14, 2011 by Pib

[Jingthing]

In a Thai will you can include specific information about specific accounts. Maybe not needed for a spouse, but why not do it to make it airtight?

[gamini]

The best thing to do is give your wife your ATM card (or duplicate) which is linked to your retirement account or put it together with your will. At least this way she can draw out the money slowly e.g 20k a time.

[Bosse137]

I made my comments following the link in the first OP,don`t need to make them again.(if anyone interested...)

[dinger]

Wow, this is sort of strange, I went into SCB last week and asked the exact same question. The manager in my branch said that as we married my wife would only need to produce a death ceretificate and marriage papers to access the account. Now that being said I don't think anything works that easily here so will do some more checking,

[roiethome]

It is OK giving the wife an ATM card to access the funds, but what happens when the card is retained or needs renewing. She wont be able to draw any more funds

[keestha]

It is OK giving the wife an ATM card to access the funds, but what happens when the card is retained or needs renewing. She wont be able to draw any more funds

When the bank gets the information that the account holder has passed away, the account will be blocked. Better do it the legal way: make the wife your inheritor (or is she so anyway, according to Thai law?), and before long after formalities have been fulfilled she will be able to use the account.

[billd766]

It is OK giving the wife an ATM card to access the funds, but what happens when the card is retained or needs renewing. She wont be able to draw any more funds

When the bank gets the information that the account holder has passed away, the account will be blocked. Better do it the legal way: make the wife your inheritor (or is she so anyway, according to Thai law?), and before long after formalities have been fulfilled she will be able to use the account.

I totally agree with you but please try not to bring too much common sense into threads as it confuses people.

[Jingthing]

If you know the account holder is dead, and you know that, and the bank doesn't know that, and you draw on the account without telling them, isn't that very illegal? Of course, agree, if you tell them, they will freeze it.

[kokesaat]

With my SCB account, it's no problem as I have an ATM and my wife can use that to draw out the money.

With my Bangkok Bank account, I have no ATM as I receive government pension deposits into that account. I read the list of 'required items' listed at the Bangkok Bank site (thanks, Pib), but have a feeling it's more directed at non-spousal relatives. Any chance Ian could weigh in and give a definitive answer? What exactly is needed and how long before gaining access?

[Pib]

Keep in mind Ian works in Bangkok Bank IT & Strategy I think and is not Bangkok Bank's rep on ThaiVisa. He has given a lot of good info, but may not even be looking at this post. You may want to email him to ask the question, but personally I would go to Bangkok Bank and ask the question. Good luck.

[aurelius]

With my SCB account, it's no problem as I have an ATM and my wife can use that to draw out the money.

With my Bangkok Bank account, I have no ATM as I receive government pension deposits into that account. I read the list of 'required items' listed at the Bangkok Bank site (thanks, Pib), but have a feeling it's more directed at non-spousal relatives. Any chance Ian could weigh in and give a definitive answer? What exactly is needed and how long before gaining access?

Regarding the accounts which receive pensions from the US, it is specifically a US requirement that the account owner turn up to withdraw funds - that is the US way of ensuring that the account owner is still alive. You would be best to move these funds into a regular account each month as they arrive & then get ATM card access for your wife. If pension deposits were made to the account after your demise, the US govt will reclaim those deposits and BBK will have to repatriate the funds. If there is any left over (i.e. after repatriating any "overpaid" amount) that would become an asset in the estate and subject to the estate administration under Thai law. There is not likely to be any way that those funds are accessible beyond having the bank close the account and pay out to the designated beneficiary once that person has been so declared. If all the documentation is in place, the financial transaction can take place instantly.

SCB's statement that a marriage and death cert is sufficient seems really unlikely, because Thai law also provides for children as well as surviving spouses and so the bank should not be able to hand over the cash to the spouse alone without the relevant documents attesting to her entitlement.

Another technique (not saying this is good, but it is an option) is to have a signed power of attorney document (the back-side of most of the banks' withdrawal slips) signed, without a date and without an amount (reiterate - am not saying this is good, but it is an option), and then the spouse (or anyone else who gets their dirty hands on this document) can make a single withdrawal transaction at the counter and take all the cash in one go - move it to their own a/c and operate their own ATM card happily ever after. Of course this will only work if the bank hasn't been notified that the account holder is deceased. This approach has its risks, you will need to trust your spouse.

To the final point; the law doesn't distinguish between a spouse or other person - the key question is who is entitled to receive the benefits of the estate - this will be determined in due course by a legal process, its not a entitlement from marriage (at least not under Thai law).

Edited March 15, 2011 by aurelius

[maprao]

I will get flamed here but I cannot resist

Never tell anyone in Thailand how much you are worth if you die. Or how to access your money if you die.

I am and have been happily married for more than 10 years.

Go see a good lawyer and make arrangements for your will to be kept there and for them to make arrangements. Leave a sealed envelope in your safe and tell your wife to open it in the event of your death. Tell her she and your kids will be looked after in the event of you demise from natural causes! If it gets accidentally opened before this then well you decide......Mine has never been opened. It is never a good idea to tell anyone how much you are worth dead! Especially in Asia. It does not matter how much trust and love there is in a relationship.

If there is enough money involved maybe both you and the missus might suffer an accident

Any my 2 penneth worth

Edited March 15, 2011 by maprao

[kokesaat]

Thanks for the advice, aurelius. In my own case, I'll keep my SCB account (ATM available) as my primary retirement account and just use the Bangkok Bank account for my monthly government pension deposits. In my own case, I'm confident my wife will have plenty of options for other cash in the event my money is tied up at any Thai bank for a period of time.

[Daveroc]

In Ians absence, and as an employee of BBL I can confirm the documentation required is as set out in our website and replicated in an earlier post. The only possible changes would be in the area of a Passport being changed to providing a Thai ID card if that was more applicable.

[ianguygil]

With my SCB account, it's no problem as I have an ATM and my wife can use that to draw out the money.

With my Bangkok Bank account, I have no ATM as I receive government pension deposits into that account. I read the list of 'required items' listed at the Bangkok Bank site (thanks, Pib), but have a feeling it's more directed at non-spousal relatives. Any chance Ian could weigh in and give a definitive answer? What exactly is needed and how long before gaining access?

I am sorry, I was traveling on business for a couple of days and I just got back pretty late last night. As Pib said I do not look at all threads so please PM me if you need an answer. I see that Dave already gave an answer and as he said he is also in the Bank (on the business side), so please trust his words. Thank you.

Ian

[kokesaat]

Thanks for a definitive answer!

[rafish]

With my SCB account, it's no problem as I have an ATM and my wife can use that to draw out the money.

With my Bangkok Bank account, I have no ATM as I receive government pension deposits into that account. I read the list of 'required items' listed at the Bangkok Bank site (thanks, Pib), but have a feeling it's more directed at non-spousal relatives. Any chance Ian could weigh in and give a definitive answer? What exactly is needed and how long before gaining access?

I am sorry, I was traveling on business for a couple of days and I just got back pretty late last night. As Pib said I do not look at all threads so please PM me if you need an answer. I see that Dave already gave an answer and as he said he is also in the Bank (on the business side), so please trust his words. Thank you.

Ian

Ian, I am reading these posts about account access for spouses or hiers and saw that you work for BkBk...I have a small issue in that I need to know how US citizens arrange for SS retirement funds routed to BkBk? I would appreciate any info on this issue. Further relative to the subject of this site: what about spousal access to aUS dollar account after death?

[BB1955]

With my SCB account, it's no problem as I have an ATM and my wife can use that to draw out the money.

With my Bangkok Bank account, I have no ATM as I receive government pension deposits into that account. I read the list of 'required items' listed at the Bangkok Bank site (thanks, Pib), but have a feeling it's more directed at non-spousal relatives. Any chance Ian could weigh in and give a definitive answer? What exactly is needed and how long before gaining access?

I am sorry, I was traveling on business for a couple of days and I just got back pretty late last night. As Pib said I do not look at all threads so please PM me if you need an answer. I see that Dave already gave an answer and as he said he is also in the Bank (on the business side), so please trust his words. Thank you.

Ian

Ian, I am reading these posts about account access for spouses or hiers and saw that you work for BkBk...I have a small issue in that I need to know how US citizens arrange for SS retirement funds routed to BkBk? I would appreciate any info on this issue. Further relative to the subject of this site: what about spousal access to aUS dollar account after death?

There are a couple ways you can do this You can open a retirment account at Bangkok bank . They will give you a direct deposit form to fill out and send to SS . The money goes to Bangkok Bank of New York but is then posted t you account here in Thailand . They do charge a small fee but its not very much . If you do direct deposit to Bangkok bank your account can only be in your name and you must go to the bank yourself and transfer it into a another account that is attached to a debit card which your wife can then use . I chose not to do that . I did open a fixed savings and a savings with a debit card attached . My wifes name is on both . My retirement check is depsited into a US bank that allows external transfers . I have set it up so that the day my check hits its transfered to my account with bangkok bank . It will do this automatic . If you want to PM me I will explain it in further and tell you the US bank that I use to do this . It was the only way I could be assured that if something happened to me my wife who I trust can get to the funds we both workes so hard for over the years .... It also allowed me to leave the bulk of my savings in the USA and have complete acsess to it at any time .