How to withdraw the bank deposit if the relative passes away? No inheritance notarization is required within 50,000 yuan

CBN

2024-04-26 19:12Published on the official account of Shanghai Yicai

In recent years, topics such as "a loved one died unexpectedly, but it is difficult to withdraw money in the bank" has frequently aroused heated discussions among netizens.

On April 26, in order to further optimize financial services and facilitate the masses to handle deposit inheritance, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and the People's Bank of China formulated the Notice on Optimizing the Requirements for the Withdrawal of Small Deposits of Deceased Depositors (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), which will simplify the withdrawal of account limits from a minimum of 10,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan, which will come into effect on June 1.

Deposit inheritance needs to be improved

The small deposit withdrawal business of the deceased depositor refers to the business of how the small deposit in the depositor's account is withdrawn by the legal heirs after the depositor's death.

In order to solve the problem of time-consuming and high cost of inheritance of small deposits, since 2019, the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, together with relevant departments, has issued a number of policy documents to cancel the notarization requirements for qualified deposit inquiries and small deposit withdrawals. The Notice on Simplifying the Withdrawal of Small Deposits of Deceased Depositors (CBIRC Banfa [2021] No. 18) jointly issued by the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) and the People's Bank of China in January 2021 abolished the notarization requirement for first-order heirs, heirs or legatees designated by notarized wills to withdraw deposits of deceased depositors up to 10,000 yuan, and allowed banks to increase the limit between 10,000 yuan and 50,000 yuan.

Since the promulgation of Circular No. 18, various banking institutions have actively implemented the relevant requirements, significantly improved the efficiency of withdrawing small deposits, and effectively reduced the burden on the public.

"We have also learned from various sources that there are still some problems that need to be improved and clarified in the deposit inheritance and small deposit withdrawal business. The person in charge of the relevant department of the State Administration of Financial Supervision said.

The person in charge said that when the heir withdraws the deposit of the deceased relative, he must submit a notarial certificate of inheritance issued by a notary public, and the bank can use it to handle the transfer or payment procedures. This provision has played an important role in ensuring the safety of deposits and protecting the interests of heirs, but in the case of a small amount of deposits, the heirs are still required to go through notarization, which will make the heirs bear unreasonable time costs and notarization fees, especially for remote areas and people in economic difficulties, which will make their burden even heavier.

Based on this, the State Administration of Financial Supervision (SAFS) has formulated the Circular to optimize some of the requirements of Circular 18 and provide for matters related to deposit inheritance.

The simplified withdrawal account limit has been increased to $50,000

Yicai learned that the State Administration of Financial Supervision conducted extensive research in the early stage, and after the issuance of the No. 18 document, more than half of the banks have raised the maximum limit (50,000 yuan), but in some provinces, some rural small and medium-sized financial institutions have simplified the account limit of 10,000 yuan. For example, some small and medium-sized rural banks in Hebei's rural credit system still implement a limit of 10,000 yuan, accounting for 68% of the province's rural credit system.

In this regard, the "Notice" will increase the account limit for simplified withdrawal from the minimum 10,000 yuan to 50,000 yuan. At the same time, taking into account regional and institutional differences, small and medium-sized rural banks are allowed to postpone meeting this requirement until the end of 2025.

In this regard, the person in charge of the relevant department explained that in economically developed areas, most banks have increased the account limit of simplified withdrawal to 50,000 yuan, which is a high proportion. However, taking into account the actual situation of risk management of small and medium-sized banks in rural areas, as well as the level of economic development in rural areas of some provinces. Therefore, although the simplified withdrawal limit will be uniformly increased to 50,000 yuan, it will also leave a longer period for rural small and medium-sized financial institutions to meet the standard.

At the same time, the Circular expands the scope of simplified extraction. The gold accumulation products of banking financial institutions, as well as the treasury bonds and wealth management products sold by agents, will be included in the scope of simplified withdrawal.

To put it simply, wealth management products, gold, treasury bonds, etc. issued by banks and wealth management subsidiaries are included in the simplified withdrawal operation, but the limit must also be included within 50,000 yuan.

In addition, the requirements for checking account transaction details have also been further clarified. The bank may, upon request by the first-order heirs, provide details of account transactions after the death of the deceased depositor and within 6 months prior to the death.

In terms of strengthening and improving financial services, the Circular requires banks to inform applicants of the relevant requirements at one time in cases where the materials submitted by the applicants are incomplete or do not meet the requirements. Banks may refer to the requirements of Circular 18 to simplify the withdrawal procedures for funeral expenses and pensions, and handle simplified withdrawals for first-order heirs.

Funeral expenses can be withdrawn in full, simplified

It is worth noting that the Notice stipulates that the first-order heirs can inquire about the bank account transaction details of the deceased depositor in the first 6 months of his life and after his death.

The transaction details of the deceased depositor's bank account record some of the personal information of the deceased depositor during his lifetime, and may involve personal privacy, so it should be treated with caution.

The person in charge of the relevant department said that commercial banks have the obligation to "keep the confidentiality of depositors". Although the heir can generally inherit the contractual rights and obligations between the deceased depositor and the bank, based on the personal nature of the account transaction information, the heir does not automatically obtain the right to know the account transaction information. Where the account transaction information is improperly used and the privacy of the deceased depositor is infringed, the perpetrator shall bear civil liability. On the other hand, the Personal Information Protection Law, which came into effect in November 2021, stipulates that close relatives may exercise their rights to access the relevant personal information of the deceased for their own legitimate and legitimate interests, unless otherwise arranged by the deceased before his death.

In reality, there is also a reasonable need for the heirs to inquire about the transaction details of the deceased depositor under certain circumstances. The heirs' lawful and legitimate needs for inquiries shall be satisfied.

Therefore, in order to take into account the protection of personal information and the needs of heirs, in accordance with the Civil Code, the Personal Information Protection Law and other legal provisions, the Notice clarifies the relevant requirements for checking account transaction details to meet the query needs under specific circumstances. In order to avoid unnecessary and unlimited inquiries and protect the personal information and privacy rights of deceased depositors, the Circular stipulates the applicant for inquiry and the time limit for inquiry.

It is also worth mentioning that the "Notice" also simplifies the withdrawal of funeral expenses and pensions.

In reality, there are cases where funeral expenses and pensions are remitted from the accounts of deceased depositors. Previously, there were no clear regulations on the withdrawal of funeral expenses and pensions. Considering that funeral expenses and pensions are different in nature from those deposited by the deceased depositors during their lifetime, in order to facilitate the public, the "Notice" clarifies that funeral expenses and pensions are not included in the account limit of 50,000 yuan, and can be withdrawn in full and simplified. The applicant may, in an appropriate manner, indicate that the funds in the account belong to funeral expenses and pensions. The bank confirms the nature of the funds by verifying the transaction information and the source of funds, and the applicant signs a letter of commitment, etc., and handles simplified withdrawals on the premise of ensuring the safety of the funds.

(This article is from Yicai)