A grieving widow has been hit by a surprise bill to access her husband’s Premium Bonds savings.
Her daughter contacted NS&I over X asking the provider to explain why she needed a Grant of Probate to access her husband’s savings.
She asked: “Please tell me why my mother has to have Grant of Probate to cash in my late father’s Premium Bonds. She is 94 and it will cost her a lot of money.”
A Grant of Probate is a document that sets out who is the executor of a will and who has the authority to deal with the deceased person’s assets.
A representative of NS&I said in response: “We’re sorry to hear of the loss of your father. We may ask for a Grant of Probate if the customer’s total NS&I savings are £5,000 or over.
“The Director of Savings also reserves the right to request a Grant of Probate for savings of any value.”
There is further guidance on the NS&I website about accessing the savings of a person who has died.
It states: “If you need to claim the savings of someone who has died, you can do this online, without needing to create an online account.
“Please make sure you have their details to hand, and you are legally entitled to claim their savings.”
The information also sets out: “We will let you know if we need a Grant of Representation (also known as a Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration) once we receive your completed form.
“We may ask for this if the customer’s total NS&I savings are £5,000 or over. The Director of Savings also reserves the right to request a Grant of Representation for savings of any value.”
In the event a person has died and they win a Premium Bonds prize, a person can send the prize warrant back to NS&I and this can be reissued to the individual entitled to receive the funds.
The NS&I website explains: “We’ll also hold on to any other prizes the customer wins until we have completed the claim.
“Then we’ll send any future prizes won by warrant (like a cheque) after each prize draw to the person entitled to the money.”
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