Overseas Account Closures

Navigating International Bank Accounts & Investment Accounts

In an increasingly mobile world, it’s no longer unusual for Irish residents to find themselves, whether through work or property ownership, with a bank account or an investment portfolio abroad.

The account might have proved troublesome for the account holder to close, or was forgotten entirely, and so becomes an asset, and a potential problem, for the estate.

Others open investment accounts and portfolios in foreign jurisdictions, often as part of wealth planning, not realising there may be cross-border consequences later for their estate representatives or designated beneficiaries to deal with.

More recently, many workers at foreign multinationals who are part-paid in Employee Stock Purchase Plan shares, find their assets managed by US-based investment companies in portfolio accounts that are subject to very specific account closure rules.

As many Executors have discovered, it can be a lengthy and time consuming process, once the account holder dies, to fulfil foreign banks’ and other financial institutions’ requirements, when the deceased is not a national of the country concerned.

A raft of legal, financial and administrative hurdles can materialise, varying widely, not only depending on the country, but also on the institution and even the type of account or the US State in which the account was opened (for example). Even getting a date of death balance, to accurately report the value of the asset for estate inventory and CAT tax filing purposes, can present significant challenges.

Irish resident Executors seeking to close US bank and investment accounts, in particular, may have to clear a number of obstacles before the account can be closed, such as dealing with bank officials in different departments, obtaining a Federal Transfer Certificate from the IRS, arranging for official translations of estate documents, and having Apostilles affixed, for example. Delays, culture and language clashes, and financial institutions’ own extremely stringent privacy and security policies can all prove frustrating for Executors more used to the workings of Irish institutions.

Finders’ specialist International Asset Services team of probate advisers can assist you with the work of closing accounts in a variety of overseas jurisdictions. Please contact us for a quotation tailored to your needs.