Thank you for the response. When you say they can reclaim the assets does this mean we can claim the shares or they have to sell and then rebuy? That’s the option people really want, ideally being able to transfer the account name as long as they have the relevant docs obviously.
This is an area for Freetrade to be leaders with a clear policy with options and enhance their reputation 
I can see the heir hunters loving this
I don’t think we are going to get a one size fits all answer here. Probate solicitors are a thing for a reason. These things can be complicated
Inheritance and tax wrapper rules would have to be followed, so it might not be simple for Freetrade to make it simple…
For instance, if you’re a beneficiary, you cannot have an ISA transferred to you unless you’re the surviving spouse or partner (see Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs): Inheriting an ISA from your spouse or civil partner - GOV.UK ) - for every other kind of beneficiary the shares would need to be sold and the cash transferred.
SIPPs will be outside of estate for inheritance tax purposes, and can be transferred I believe.
Totally agreed, if the estate is large or complicated, or if the situation on the beneficiaries side is “complicated”.
But if the estate is actually simple, DIY probate is doable. It’s a bunch of forms and some money saved. I just did one: had to do an estate report for HMRC before doing the probate itself. My tip: read all the guidance and gather all of the numbers before you start filling in the forms, and order several copies of the probate certificates.
There are definitely ways to get around selling and buying reading the government websites various pages. It seems it is down to the company policy and if they are pro-active or just go for the simple sell the shares option.
The below is interesting
Must admit if it was a difficult thing to do with FT I would look elsewhere in the long term as I would 100% want my shares passed on and not sold as I hope it to be a large asset by then and wouldn’t want it sold at whatever that days price was. Hopefully FT offer this in the next few years as I’m not planning on going just yet
I expect not if they do not know the shares exist. The shares would likely be lost.
Don’t think they would be lost. They would still be in the ether!
Would Freetrade attempt to seek users out if they saw their account dormant for a certain time period but still had live shares and money in the account??
Found this article explaining what happen when an investor dies. Does it help?
I just think the Freetrade team is missing the opportunity to explain it to their customers themselves.
Good article but kinda confirms it is down to FT policy so they could really do some good in this area. 
There is no public policy. That’s the issue I think most people have when you dig into it.
HL, i know what their policy is, it’s right here What happens to my HL investments when I die | HL
Freetrade we have no idea… contacting them isn’t helpful when in dead, and they seem reluctant or maybe not authorised to say what their policy is.
I think it’s a quite reasonable request to know what freetrades policy is? I need to be able to plan ahead and it would be useful to know what freetrade supports so i can decide if I should keep my assets here or not.
You need to create a Will - They were asking about it when I was writing my one (Farewill)
Well I have to say that HL policy is EXACTLY what I want!!! It is really good and proves it is doable.
Stocks and Shares and Lifetime ISAs
Any beneficiary can choose to either
- have the investments transferred into a Fund and Share Account in their own name, or;
- have the value paid out to them as cash.
Fund and Share Account
Any beneficiary can choose to either:
- have the investments transferred into a Fund and Share Account in their own name, or;
- have the value paid out to them as cash.
Yes sounds like HL will happily transfer to a different account . Less clear to me whether the ISA wrapper persists, but the tax wrapper might be a secondary concern for you. (I still think the gov guidance is pretty clear: only a spouse or partner.)
Yep but I’m not fussed about that bit as if taxes are due legally they are everywhere so no issues. My concern is at the moment it seems everything is sold on a set day whatever the value. Me personally, I want the option that HL offer but more importantly a decent clear policy would be great either way.
The monthly statement that I get (in activity tab) does not have any contact details, addresses of Freetrade
I download and email the statement to myself as record of what I hold at end of the month. as a record of holdings and value
If admins are listening in, please make the Freetrade statement contain all details like any statement from example Bank or any other company would look as a minimum standard
I like the optimism shown in the topic title.
Not sure if it has been mentioned yet but a section of will on FT where you can input who you would like your shares to go to just like how pensions ask.
For me I have said my mum.
I imagine if its not your spouse it should be included in inheritance tax calcs? Surely in the govts interest to get involved somewhere?
Hi
Slightly strange question I know but I work for a share registrar in the UK and was wondering what happens if a freetrade customer passes away?