Deceased Estates: Supporting you every step of the way

Letting us know

1. Helping you protect the accounts

Letting us know of your loved one’s passing is an essential step in protecting their estate and understanding the accounts held in the name of your loved one.

We understand it can take time to gather all the required documentation needed to let us know, however protecting your loved one’s accounts from the risk of fraud or misuse is important. You can let us know directly or you can engage a solicitor to act on your behalf.
 

If you have chosen to let us know directly, you and anyone who may be supporting you can notify us of your loved one’s passing by providing the required documents:

• A completed Notification of Death Form (PDF 64KB)
  
• A document evidencing your loved one has passed away with any one of the following:
  • Certified copy of death certificate
  • Certified copy of medical report
  • Certified copy of police report
     

If you have engaged a solicitor to let us know, we simply require a letter from your solicitor confirming your loved one’s full name, date of birth and date of passing, and one of the documents outlined above to evidence your loved one has passed away.
 

Upon receipt of the Notification of Death Form and proof of passing, we’ll provide you with a letter confirming the actions we have taken to protect the accounts and what is required to provide you with information on your loved one’s accounts. We complete these tasks within timeframes complying with the Banking Code of Practice.

2. Providing you with information

To help you manage the estate we can provide more detailed information of your loved one’s accounts. It is important that we only provide information to the authorised representative of the estate such as the executor listed on the Will, the next of kin or a solicitor who has been engaged to represent the estate.
 

To verify the representative’s entitlement to represent the estate we will require the following documents:

• A completed Deceased Estate Representative Form (PDF 130KB)
• A document that provides evidence of your entitlement such as:
  • A certified copy of a Will to verify an executor, or if a will does not exist
  • A certified copy of the death certificate to verify the next of kin
  • Certified copy of identification of the estate representatives:
  • If you’re an existing St. George, Bank of Melbourne or BankSA customer, this may not be required;
  • If you’re not an existing St. George, Bank of Melbourne or BankSA customer, either one (1) Primary Photographic identification document; or one (1) Primary Non-Photographic identification and one (1) Secondary identification document. Refer to FAQs for further information on identification document types
     

If you have engaged a solicitor, we require a letter from your solicitor confirming they have been engaged to act on your behalf.
 

Upon receipt of the Deceased Estate Representative Form and required documents, we will provide, a detailed listing of accounts to the authorised estate representative and outline what is required to settle and close those accounts. You may receive a separate letter for each Westpac Group brand (e.g. St.George and Westpac).
 

We complete these tasks within timeframes complying with the Banking Code of Practice.

Note: You can choose to send the Notification of Death and the Deceased Estate Representative forms together or send the Notification of Death Form as an initial step.

How to let us know

Please send all documents to us:

• Via email at estatesmanagement@banksa.com.au
• Via post: Estates Management – Mailstop 30.A.4
  GPO Box 3433
  Sydney NSW 2001
• Or by visiting a branch (It’s recommended you make an appointment to visit a BankSA branch. Allow approximately 45 minutes for this appointment)
   

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For any other assistance with accessing our service, such as accessing information on this email, please contact us and we will be happy to help. For more information on all our accessibility options, go to our website and search Access and Inclusion.

Settling and closing accounts

Instructing us on how you wish to settle and close accounts is an essential step.
 

If your loved one holds accounts across multiple Westpac Group brands (e.g. Westpac and St.George) you will need to instruct us on how you wish to settle and close accounts for each brand.
 

You may choose to instruct us to:

• close your loved one’s accounts and disburse funds directly to beneficiaries, or
• set up an Estate of the Late trust account to manage your loved one’s estate.
   

Prior to instructing us to close all accounts, you should consider whether the accounts should remain open to facilitate receipt of any deposits which may still be made to the deceased's accounts such as superannuation benefits, tax refunds, or other deposits.
 

If a solicitor has been engaged to act on your behalf, we are unable to settle and close accounts on direction from your solicitor. We will require the Executor or the Administrator to complete the Deceased Estate Account Instruction Form (PDF 112KB) which can then be forwarded to us by your solicitor.
 

We will act on the disbursement instructions provided on the Deceases Estate Account Instruction Form by the Executor or Administrator as we do not follow instructions on the Will.

How to instruct us

Please send all documents to us:

• Via email at estatesmanagement@banksa.com.au
• Via post: Estates Management – Mailstop 30.A.4
  GPO Box 3433
  Sydney NSW 2001
• Or by visiting a branch (It’s recommended you make an appointment to visit a BankSA branch. Allow approximately 45 minutes for this appointment)

What we do once you have instructed us

Once we’ve received your documents and the signed Deceased Estate Account Instruction Form, we will commence acting on your instructions in accordance with timeframes outlined by the Banking Code of Practice.
 

We will send you a letter confirming the actions we have taken. You will also receive a final statement issued in the name of your loved one showing a zero balance for any transaction account once it has been finalised.