This is what family members should do if an account holder dies

Generally, everyone in Spain is bank account holder. This is the financial contract that is established between a person or company with an entitythe latter is in charge of managing, administering and safeguarding the money that the client deposits in the bank. They allow the deposit of one of the most important transactions such as the payroll receipt, as well as financial benefits or other personal income.

Generally, the account can be individual or have multiple owners. However, the first option, the most independent, is in most cases the most common, especially in new generations. This thus raises some doubts about what What happens when a bank account holder dies. And, be careful, because just as the majority of paperwork falls on family members, this process is also an essential part that they must know if they do not want to face penalties.

Steps that the family member of a deceased owner must follow

After mourning the death of a family member, comes a series of procedures, including know bank accounts which he had available. To do this, family members must go to the Tax Agencywho have this type of information. Once this situation is known, the bank must be notified and, therefore, paralyze them, as long as no new commissions or payments are generated that may incur debts. It should also be noted that if there is no relevant notice, the pending receipts will continue to enter the deceased’s account and, if authorized in the account, they will become blocked.

To carry out, therefore, the account closurewe will have to provide the death certificate to the bank and if there is a willa copy of this or at most, a declaration of heirs. This allows in the case of being the owner of the inheritanceyou can make any movement in the account or use the deposited amount.

Penalties if the bank is not notified of the death of the owner

Failure to notify the bank that an account holder has died can have significant consequences. For example, you canaccumulate commissions and expenseshaving a negative impact on the economic amount received by the heir. Besides, increases the number of frauds, since any authorized person could have access to the funds present in the bank account. These unauthorized movementssuch as withdrawing money, can constitute a crime of misappropriation, which results in fines or even prison sentences.

What happens if no one claims the funds?

Although it is a rare situation, it is possible that no one will claim the funds in a deceased person’s bank account. In this sense, they must wait at least 20 years for the economic amount to become in the hands of the State. After no activity, the account is blocked and payments are automatically suspended; After the estimated time, the remaining funds will go to the Public Treasury.