We're here to help when you lose a loved one
Coping with the loss of someone close is always difficult. It can seem overwhelming to sort out all the practical things during such an emotional and stressful time.
We’re here to offer help and support and will try and keep things as simple as possible for you. We will help you understand the steps you may need to take and reassure you that help is available should you have financial concerns.
Registering a bereavement with us
To register a customer's death and release their account information, please provide:
- A photocopy of your driving licence or passport
- Original or photocopy of the death certificate
- Personal Representative Registration form
For more information, please read through our FAQs further down the page.
How to contact us
See us in branch
Come into our branch and speak with us about registering a bereavement. We can answer your questions and help you take the first steps in the process.
Call us
Call us on 0161 923 8000, we are open Monday – Friday, 8.30am – 5.00pm (we are closed on bank holidays).
Write to us
Or you can choose to write to us by post or electronically. Our email address is info@themanchester.co.uk. Our postal address is, Manchester Building Society, 125 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 4QD.
Please let us know if you need any further support. This could be something like communicating with you in a certain way or sending letters in a different format. We’ll always do our best to make any adjustments that help you.
Accessing money
While you’re dealing with the estate, you may need to access money from the customer’s accounts. You can do this once you’ve let us know of the death and registered your details. You can usually make a withdrawal for funeral expenses, probate application fees or inheritance tax.
Joint accounts
Any joint savings accounts will automatically transfer to the surviving account holder once the death has been registered. Probate will not be needed as part of this process. What happens with a joint mortgage account is dependent on how the property is owned.
Closing accounts
When you’re ready to close any savings accounts, we’ll need an account closure form. We will need probate if the total balance of the customer’s savings account(s) is over £30,000 or if you’re already getting probate because another company needs it. We may also need it if the customer has a mortgage with us which won’t automatically transfer to a joint holder. The probate must be either an original or a solicitor-certified copy and can be sent through the post or taken to our branch with the original account closure form.
Commonly asked questions
In place of a death certificate, we can also accept an original or photocopy of an interim death certificate or a coroner’s report. If you send an original through the post or bring it to branch, we’ll make a copy and give you the original back.
We can also accept a Death Certificate Verification form from a solicitor practicing in England or Wales, but for this option, we’ll need to see the original.
Please contact us and we can discuss different options.
Yes, this is so we can register that you’re the one dealing with the account. If you’re dealing with things through the post, or if you visit our branch to register a death but are not closing the accounts straight away, we’ll ask you to complete this form just to make sure we have your details on file.
You’ll need to fill in a form which can be found on this page and we’ll also need to see an invoice. If you complete a Personal Representative Registration form, there’s an option to say you plan to withdraw some costs. If you select this, when we post the account information and next steps, we’ll include the right form.
We’ll need probate if the total balance of the customer’s sole savings account(s) is over £30,000. If the balance total is below £30,000, but you’re still applying for probate because another company needs it, we’ll also need to see it. Usually, if the customer holds a mortgage that won’t automatically be transferring to a joint holder, we’ll need probate.
If your partner had an ISA, you may be able to keep the funds in an ISA wrapper to keep any tax benefits. Find out more about inheritance ISA allowance.
