Mortgage bereavement guide

Dealing with a loved one's mortgage

One of the most difficult and stressful periods in anyone’s life can be the loss of a loved one. Having to deal with the estate and taking care of financial affairs can add to the worry and stress at an already difficult and emotional time. We’ve put together a Bereavement Guide of steps to take following a bereavement.

The process of dealing with a loved one's mortgage or savings account with us differs. You can find our savings bereavement guide here. 

Follow the steps below, for our mortgages.  

Notify us

Firstly, call us or visit your local store to let us know about the death and your relationship with the deceased. We will add a notification to the account and add your details as our registered contact. We may not be able to discuss the details of any account(s) they may hold with us, until we’ve received the death certificate, due to data protection. After you've notified us, we’ll need to see the death certificate within the next three months. There is no need for us to see the will.

Land Registry 

The Cambridge or your Solicitor will notify the Land Registry of the death and they will then update the title deed to reflect this.

Our mortgage team will send you a confirmation letter detailing how the mortgage is held at the Land Registry (whether this is in sole/joint names or tenants in common) and if there is a physical pack of deeds or a live endowment policy in place.

For joint accounts

The mortgage will automatically transfer to the remaining account holder(s) and the deceased's name will be removed from the mortgage account.

The remaining account holder(s) are responsible for continuing to pay for the monthly payments. We understand that this is not always possible and therefore our team are on hand to discuss what options are available to support you.

For sole accounts

Our financial support team will make contact and keep in touch with the registered contact on the account and the executor(s)/administrator(s) once the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration have been obtained. Where it is known, we want to understand what the intentions are for the property and will offer support during this time so that a plan can be put into place. The property may need to be sold or alternatively, if any beneficiaries wish to keep the property, they will need to raise sufficient funds in their own name to fully repay the mortgage debt.

You may need a statement showing the remaining balance on the mortgage account at the date of death, which we can provide to the registered contact or solicitor, upon request. Please be aware that interest will continue to be charged at the current product rate and will be added to the mortgage balance, meaning the total amount owed will increase until the mortgage is fully repaid.

Once an Executor or Administrator has been granted the legal right to deal with the finances of the deceased’s estate, payment will be expected to fully repay, or redeem, the balance and close the mortgage account. We are not able to accept any payments into the account unless they’re made by either the executor(s)/administrator(s) once the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration have been obtained or their solicitor, using funds from the estate.

When you're ready to pay the outstanding mortgage balance to close the account, you'll need a redemption statement which we can send to you with further details on how we can accept the final funds. If the property is being sold or a new mortgage is being taken out by a beneficiary, this will be completed by the solicitor dealing with the sale.

If no one is able to manage the estate of the deceased, it is important for us to be made aware at the earliest opportunity, so that we can take steps to protect the property, which is an asset of the estate, as soon as possible.

For tenants in common

If you are a tenant in common with the deceased, the deceased’s name will remain on the mortgage account until the account is redeemed. You may wish to discuss this in further detail with the Solicitor dealing with the estate.

If you were looking to add a holder to the mortgage account, we would put you in contact with one of our Mortgage Advisers to discuss your options.

Contact us

We are on hand to help you with any queries or worries you may have. Just call our team on 0345 601 3344 or pop into your nearest branch or store and you'll find a team member who can help.