Hey
Apologies for this morbid subject. But I would like to know what happens should death occur to a FT user?
How are the shares then managed?
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Hi folks,
There should be a phone number, address an email for the office at Freetrade that deals with the bereavement of the account holder.
I have a file for my widow and Executors of my Will which provides this information. I cannot find any such contacts on the Freetrade site.
I know there are lots of youngsters on here who wonāt be thinking of such things. But my father had a book where he listed all his financial details and even though a bit out of date it was very useful and means the executors can process the Grant of Probate, final tax Return etc. without a costly solicitor. Most banks are very helpful in this way. I have been Executor of wills for 3 family members and you do need to know account numbers etc., etcā¦
I keep all my information in a free form database which I periodically save as a pdf and can easily print and hold in a suitable labelled file. The database means I can easily update change of names (Insurance Companies are always changing names!!)
Instead of being morbid I found the process quite liberating. I have over 50 database entries a bit like index cards and it surprises me how it continues to grow with ne website links etc.
I even have sample template letters to send out plus lots of hints and tips from my own experience as an Executor.
Anyway Freetrade team I think this topic should be in the Q&As āWhat to do if someone dies?ā
Any other ideas?
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What on earth is the problem here? Can Freetrade just clarify what the position is regarding the questions on this thread?
When I die. Thereās no one to admin my estate so for me I guess my account and investments will stay active.
Forever !
That gives some comfort to think in 500 years my account will be worth Ā£trillions 
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Nope. The Crown will get them at some point much much closer than that (if you are unmarried and have no children).
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It would be placed on the bona vacantia list
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Put in your will to donate your investments to a charity of your choice
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Please leave a treasure hunt with your password as the prize.
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Hi everyone,
Thanks for raising this very important point.
Weāre currently midway through a refresh of our procedures around this very process so are still fleshing out some of the finer details at this time. Weāve also changed where the ownership of this process sits within the business to ensure that weāre offering a more customer centric approach during a difficult period for those contacting us. Weāre approaching this with three core considerations:
- Better trained support and more resources available to the family/next of kin throughout the account winding-up process.
- More guides and information: A collection of new FAQs is currently being created to set out expectations for this scenario and give an indication of documentation required for those reporting the passing of a customer.
- Faster resolutions. Whilst there are a number of requirements that need to be satisfied before a customerās account can be wound up due to their passing, weāre committed to making these steps as clear and stress-free as possible for those handling the estate.
We can support in-specie asset transfers out but this is subject to the same limitation as normal transfers out, where we can only facilitate them for UK securities. Non-UK securities would need to be sold down and transferred as cash.
The caveat to all of this is that we can only assist if weāre aware of a customerās passing in the first place. This is very much down to family/next of kin/executors notifying us so that we can advise on next steps. As Freetrade customers, itās crucial that you inform these people of the existence of your account in order to do so.
Thanks for your patience whilst we improve the clarity around this process. Weāre aiming to have new content on this topic in our FAQs as early as next week. If you need anything more specific in the meantime, please reach out to our Customer Services team whoāll be happy to help. Either with in-app chat if youāre a Plus member, or by email: hello@freetrade.io.
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Good point we have done a will but it was well before I bought shares etc
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Thankyou Meghan thatās a great help already .
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I came across this article on the Government website that I thought would be relevant here -
If youāre an ISA manager find out how to manage additional permitted subscriptions for a surviving spouse or civil partner of a deceased investor.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-additional-permitted-subscriptions-into-an-isa
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Interested to know if there is an answer to the original question
Would you ever considering adding the functionality that if a beneficiary creates a Freetrade account, they can inherit the deceased persons account.
I know freetrade isnāt quite built that way in the here and now, but is it in the works or on the roadmap?
That could be a huge minefield though.
Thereās all the tax implications, what as bout if the estate leaves 20% to one & various other amounts to othersā¦ All of which is just a financial hassle
.
Better for FT to just sell and say āhereās your money, do as you doāā¦ after all the contracts, agreements and things are now with a stiff
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@MeghanB26 just to confirm if I understood properly.
I just texted to a colleague of yours, about this topic, he told me that itās possible to pass onto oneās son at the death of the shares owner, only of course if someone notify Freetrade with a copy of a Grant of Probate, then you can proceed to e.g. sell or transfer holdings as requested.
Just i didnt understand if this action is possible in both GIA and ISA? Or just in a GIA account.
Please correct me if Iām wrong, as this is really important to me
Thanks to everyone want to help in advance
Last thing, as ātransfer holdingā you mean tranfer to another provider or to another person?
Again thanks
Have we got this solved yet? In my standard life pension and other pensions it has a beneficiary section where you just name the name, who theyāre to you, address etc and thatās it done.
For me it would be my mum but sheās completly useless when it comes to tech so trying to get her to understand there is cash on here waiting for her is a hassle.
All I can do is write my user name with the user name number, pin, address etc and rough amount on a price of paper with instructions to tell her where to go to download the app then to make an account and then to call for support to send the death certificate etc etc.
My mum actully has an account on here, back when I invited her for a free share and I have asked her a few times to jump on and she always says the usual, I canāt remember my password I donāt know how to work these things.
Be good to hear an update encase I have missed it etc, thanks
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Itās in section 33 of the terms and conditions. While itās an improvement, the wording is not very clear
It refers you to section 31.1 about closing your account. Closing your account presumably includes moving assets as described in section 32.1.3 of which the person closing the account would need to give clear instructions to Freetrade
FYI access to your account should not be required, Freetrade just need proof your dead and the ability to ID your account
As I understand itās usually not recommended that a family member handle these things but that a professional whoās job it is to handles a persons estate should handle this. In this case as your mother may not really know what to do, you might want to look into that
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Thanks for the information Eden 