In the event of my untimely demise

Help & Support
#1

Morning all,

Slightly morbid topic, but I realised I’ve got bank accounts, investment accounts and various savings pots everywhere, and if I shuffle off this mortal coil earlier than I want to, my poor next of kin will have to sort through it all and make sense of it.

I’m putting together a crib sheet to make that task a bit easier, but wondered how Chip deals with death. Not from an existential crisis point of view, but more of a “how does my wife withdraw the savings” type thing. Support is obviously in-app, but is there a way of contacting Chip outside of it?

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#2

upon death, your assets and liabilities become your “estate” which you can think of as a separate legal entity. There are various legal rules around managing the estate of someone who has died but the most important rule is: just because you’re dead, your next of kin does not have carte blanche to withdraw your assets. Depending on the value of your estate, it could actually be illegal for your next of kin to withdraw your money from Chip! The full process is straightforward, but lengthy, as it involves applying for the “grant of probate” which is the legal process that would allow your next of kin to withdraw your assets.

Managing probate as an individual is doable, but probably not worth the effort, so in most cases, it would be handled on behalf of your next of kin by a professional. Nowadays there are a few companies that do probate in a fintech-y way like Farewill and classic options like the Co-op.

If you wish to give your next of kin the easiest time managing your estate when you die: provide a breakdown of all your accounts (assets and liabilities). Access to the accounts is not necessary, because that’s handled by the account provider when they’re notified through the probate process. A will is a good idea too, can’t really go wrong by having a will, but not essential if your estate is simple.

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#3

Good question and one I’d like to understand what chips process is so I can document it for my own family also :+1:

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#4

Good answer but not specific to the question…

#5

Same would like to know too, Are they rules different for the different type assets u hold with chip? Is it total value of capital and investment within the platform that rules apply different?

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#6

We do have a process should this unfortunately occur.

The required documents are:

  1. The account details of the deceased (phone number, email address, full name).
  2. The death certificate of the account holder.
  3. Proof of ID and proof of address from the executor/person requesting to transfer.

We may also require…

  1. A Law Society ID number or Company Registration number, if a solicitor/lawyer contacts us.
  2. If the deceased’s balance is £10,000 or over, we also require a probate.
  3. If the executor does not have access to the linked bank account (or if there isn’t one), we require proof of the account the balance is to be transferred to.

With regards to contacting Chip outside of the app, you can always drop an email to hello@getchip.uk or use the live chat function on our website, these are the best ways to put you in touch with the team. And of course you can post on the forum here too.

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#7

Thanks for this. Will add these instructions to my own “in case of” spreadsheet!

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#8

Sorry completely forgot about this! Thanks all for the really helpful answers - for now I’ll just add “email Chip” to the instructions and she can go from there!