A power of attorney ends at death

A power of attorney ends at the death of the person who gave it. Whoever during life was allowed to bank online or to pay on behalf of the deceased may not continue that after the death as if nothing has changed. That applies to a private power of attorney, to a bank power of attorney and to a card that lay in a drawer. The authority after the death follows from the will, from the statute and from what the bank requires. A bank usually asks for a certificate of inheritance before it releases balances. Until that authority is fixed, you make no transfers with the deceased's means.

Continuing with the card or the login of the deceased is not administration. Even a payment that looks useful, such as an outstanding energy bill, does not belong through that old access. Ask the bank which payments it still carries out and which account you may use for costs of the estate inventory. An account in two names, of which the partner can still dispose themselves, is a different situation from an account in one name. Let the bank keep those two apart and keep their explanation in the file. Until that explanation is there, you no longer touch the card.

Tell the person who had the power of attorney that same day that the access stops. Ask for cards and tokens back and note what you receive. Do not change passwords by logging in as the deceased, but through the procedure of the bank or the provider. A password does not belong in an open note in the file. If payments were nevertheless made with that card after the date of death, write the date, the amount, the recipient and who did the act. That list is later needed for the account and justification, whatever the intention of the payment was.

A levenstestament explains why someone was allowed to act before the death. After the death the will does not automatically take that role over onto the same person. The executor is an executor only if the will or the statute makes them one. Someone who paid the bills during the illness often does have the knowledge you need. Ask at which bank the deceased banked, which direct debits were running and where the folder is, and write that down. Do not use the old login to check that knowledge; you request the statements through the route the bank prescribes after a death.

Organisations that knew the power of attorney, such as an asset manager, receive notice that the power of attorney has ended because of the death. Send who the new contact is only once that is clear, otherwise you raise expectations. Until then the notice of the death is enough, with the death certificate if the organisation asks for it. Keep their reply. A manager who still carries out orders on the old power of attorney must stop until there is a new instruction. That stop is a task with a confirmation, not an assumption you tick off because you have sent a letter.

This is an administrative checklist, not legal advice. The notary, the bank or the body concerned decides what this file needs and in which order. Ervazo keeps the tasks, the letters and the recorded values. The program does not send the letters, does not pay any debts and does not file a return. For each step, note the date, the person and the document you have received. What is still missing stays an open task. A ticked line means only that the administration has been updated. A power of attorney from the life file stays visible as a historical document, with the death as its end point.