‍You’ve possibly already thought about some of the more obvious things like your house, your car and your family. But what about your bank accounts? Or even your Facebook profile? Wrapping up your whole life is not a simple task as Alex explains.

What happens to my mortgage and bank accounts when I die?

When you pass away the bank requires you (as the other party of the contract) to pay back lending in full before any property or money is distributed to beneficiaries.

All bank accounts and overdrafts are immediately stopped. Payments to the bank for interest and fees will still continue from the same account to avoid defaults. Then your estate needs to service the loans in the interim from those accounts. When you co-owned the property, the ownership can be transferred solely to the surviving owner.

Business accounts are a bit more tricky and these will freeze instantly as the owner of them is no longer there. If there is a partnership they will be frozen well as the partnership ended upon the passing of the other partner.

It is very wise to update your lawyer 

What about my Facebook account?

When you die, nothing automatically changes to your Facebook – but as soon as Facebook knows that you are no longer with us (and boy, do they know) there are a few options that you can choose:

1. Leave it as it is

You can, of course, leave the account as it is. This is not recommended as it means your data is guaranteed to be 100% secure.

2. Memorialise your account

Your loved ones can ask for your Facebook account to be memorialised by completing a memorialisation request and providing a scanned copy of the death certificate. Once the account is memorialised, no content can be altered or removed and the account is effectively locked down to eliminate any chance of being hacked. Only legacy contacts (your ‘digital executors’ can post on your behalf (for example, to give friends and family details of a memorial service). Friends and family can still post on your timeline to share memories.

3. Delete all data

Facebook only allows immediate family members to request all your data be deleted. They process this as a special request, and it requires scanned documentation as proof of your death. You can download all your Facebook data at any time if you wish to keep back ups.

Of course, that’s not even the half of it!

Come and have a chat to us or make an appointment with your lawyer to talk about it more. We’ll help you take charge by working out what might be the best option for you – and getting it down in writing.

Alex Barendregt is a Registered Financial Adviser with Velocity Financial. No investment decision should be taken based on the information in this blog alone. A Disclosure Statement is available free of charge upon request