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On it now 
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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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Good thing to highlight. It’d be ideal if we could provide the details of our chosen beneficiaries in-app. I know that’s what some other providers cater for.
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Should probably have a section on the FAQ for this on how to proceed or who to contact, since beneficiaries of the deceased wouldn’t necessarily be able to access in-app chat.
You can access the chat from the help section on the homepage
But yeah, there should be a help article there
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I would have thought solicitors and probate would sort this stuff out?
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Yes, although that is a longer and more expensive process. As a lawyer, I would wholeheartedly recommend nominating a beneficiary and upon a little KYC, that beneficiary then being able to access your account.
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What happens to their shares theyve purchased on here? Would a next of kin get to take over their portfolio? (I know this is random but I thought I’d add this as a query) because it could happen
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Wouldn’t that be something you cover in your will?
What if they never got to make one? 
Not gonna lie this crossed my mind the other day as well as my shares in FT itself. Didn’t want to jinx it 
Goes for anything digital really, it’ll die with you unless you’ve got it in your will.
Be interesting to know if freetrade would be able to release to next of kin if they supplied a death certificate.
Generally wills are cheap and is something you should consider if you’ve got anything of value in the digital space, domain names, crypto, shares etc
I was reading about bank safe deposit boxes the other day. They still exist in the UK, but barely. If you die and stop paying for it, the bank can eventually just claim whatever is inside. So if it’s not in your will and other people don’t know about it, it can just go.
Not sure how that relates to shares, but it was interesting 
I’ve been wondering this myself - not because there isn’t an “I have the following [shares / accounts holding shares] and I would like these to go to people as stated” provision in a will, but because for me the question starts with:
When someone goes to Freetrade and says “So-and-so died and they’ve willed their shares to me”, what does Freetrade do to action this - if anything? Certainly, last time I looked there wasn’t a simple “What to do if someone dies” page on their site setting out, if not the full procedure itself, at least what the first steps are.
On my will basically everything goes to my wife, so would that include FT?
Please can someoy clarify?
If nobody knows you have an investment and you pass away, it’ll still remain invested for the foreseeable future. Companies need a mandate to be able to transact in your behalf. That being said, logically companies should be actively chasing “gone away” clients if they wish to resolve outstanding balances/assets.
There are regulations (COBS) that require statements to be sent to clients on a “durable medium” at least quarterly (I think). While electronically is a valid method, sometimes getting statement of account by post can trigger resolution by someone becoming aware of account or returning post, which would trigger gone away status.
When you pass away, your executor of estate or next of kin will need to get a grant of probate, once this is provided to the company with death certificate, then they can liquidate assets or transfer into the name of their choosing with valid new client details paperwork.
Places I’ve worked at have all done things differently, the last place I was contracting was a relatively new company (established 2012) but most of their client base was elderly population, with approx 0.5% of assets, and 20% of money held for clients was for the benefit of gone away/deceased clients. I worked a lot on chasing clients as a side project to my actual role to limited success.
Some institutions have started using the dormant assets scheme (also look at Reclaim Fund LTD), but it’s early days to see how well that will work.
It would be interesting to see how FT would be managing the issue of gone away and deceased clients.
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