Deceased Estates FAQs

You can call 13 19 87, visit your nearest Newcastle Permanent Branch or visit our Deceased Estates page.

A Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration will need to be obtained when the total value of the Estate equates to $15,000 and over as of date of death.

If the Deceased did not leave a Will, the Estate becomes Intestate. It is usually the responsibility of the Next of Kin, or closest living relative, to complete all relevant documentation to finalise the accounts.

A Death Certificate is the official document issued by the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages containing the information registered when someone passes away, including the date, place and cause of death. Contact the Registry in your relevant State/Territory to obtain a copy of the certificate.

The only expenses that can be paid from a Deceased person’s account prior to it being finalised, are funds to pay for funeral expenses or costs to obtain Probate/Letters of Administration in order to settle the Estate.

You can apply to pay for funeral expenses by completing an Authority to Release Funds from a Deceased Estate form (pdf), and provide a copy of the invoice from the Funeral Director.

Newcastle Permanent will not be able to reimburse you directly if you have paid for the funeral upfront, however once the Estate has been finalised you can liaise with the Executor/Next of Kin regarding reimbursement.

Any account held by the Deceased will be stopped immediately upon notification. Access to these funds will not be allowed unless it is to pay for funeral expenses. The account/s can be closed by completing a Deceased Estate Statutory Declaration  (pdf) and providing a certified copy of the Death Certificate, along with either a certified copy of the relevant documentation (i.e. Will, Letters of Administration, or Grant of Probate) and the certified identification of all relevant Executors.

Accounts held jointly with the Deceased can continue to operate as normal. The account title can be amended to the single name of the surviving account holder by completing the Deceased Estate Statutory Declaration (pdf) and by providing a certified copy of the Death Certificate and your certified identification.

Once we are notified that a customer has passed away, we will cancel their credit card account, which also means that any additional cardholder(s) on the credit card account will no longer be able to use their card – these cards should be destroyed immediately.

Some transactions such as direct debits may continue and you will need to contact the merchant/service provider directly to cancel the payments. If you would like a list of the regular payments on the credit card account, please ask us.

Once we have been notified, we will stop charging any interest or fees on the credit card account and the minimum monthly repayment amount will no longer apply. If the credit card account has no money owing we will simply close the credit card account and send a letter to the Estate confirming this.

An ‘Estate of the Late’ account is an account opened for the purpose of depositing funds from a deceased person’s Estate after the date of death. For requirements of opening an ‘Estate of the Late’ account, please visit your local Branch or call 13 19 87.

If the credit card account is in credit, we will send a cheque payable to the Estate

Where a balance is owing, Newcastle Permanent reserves the right to combine the balances of two or more of the deceased person’s accounts.

For example, funds from an everyday banking or savings acco unt may be used to clear any credit card debts.

For more information on account combination, see the Terms and Conditions for the relevant account.

If there are no available funds to cover the amount owing, the Estate will be liable for the outstanding amount.

We will contact the Executor directly about these accounts and any additional requirements necessary to finalise them.

Cheques made payable to the Deceased can be deposited to their account after the date of death as normal. However, if the cheque is made payable to the ‘Estate of the Late’, these will be required to be deposited to an ‘Estate of the Late’ account.

Once the Estate has been finalised all funds must be made payable in a cheque to the Estate and sent to the Executor/Next of Kin. Alternatively they can be transferred to a Newcastle Permanent account opened as an ‘Estate of the Late’ with the Executor/Next of Kin able to operate the account. The Executor will also distribute assets to any beneficiaries in accordance with the Will.