What to do if your business suffers a bereavement

If the deceased is the sole account holder, you’ll need to notify us and close the banking facilities. To do this please follow the steps to notify us below, and one of our team will be in touch. If there’s debit or credit on the account, our team will discuss this with you and help with next steps. 

Once you've notified us of the bereavement, you'll need to decide if the business should continue trading.

Whatever you decide, our team will be in touch to discuss your options and support you with the next steps.

Are you going to stop trading?

If so, you’ll have 90 days to conclude the affairs of the business and close your banking facilities.

Are you planning to continue as a Sole Trader or bring in a new business partner? 

If you have a Continuation clause or Partnership Agreement, you may be able to continue with your existing banking facilities.

If you don’t have one of these, a new mandate may be needed to reflect the changes in your business. This will likely mean you’ll also need to open a new account and banking facilities.

Once you notify us of the bereavement, we’ll get in touch to help you with the next steps.

Are you going to stop trading?

If so, you’ll have 90 days to conclude the affairs of the business and close your banking facilities.

Are you going to continue trading? 

If so, you may need a Continuation clause or Partnership Agreement to continue with your existing banking facilities. If you don’t have one of these a new mandate and account may be needed to reflect the changes in your business. 

Once you notify us of the bereavement, we’ll get in touch to help you with the next steps.

Sole Director deceased; business to continue trading 

If the sole director died, we’ll put a temporary stop on the banking facilities until a new director is appointed. 

You’ll need to update the existing mandate with new authorised signatories and instructions to reflect the changes.

You’ll also need to update Companies House with the details of the new Director.

Sole Director deceased; business to stop trading 

If the sole director died, we’ll put a temporary stop on the banking facilities while you and your colleagues work through the business closure process. 

One or more Director remaining

If there’s more than one remaining Director, your banking facilities will continue to work as normal. 

You’ll need to update Companies House to reflect the change. 

Once you notify us of the bereavement, we’ll get in touch to discuss your options and help you with the next steps.

Partner deceased; one or more remaining partner 

If the business has more than one remaining partner, your banking facilities will continue as normal. You’ll need to update the authorised signatories and instructions on the existing mandate to reflect the change.  

You'll need to update Companies House to reflect the change. 

Partner deceased; sole partner remaining

If only one partner remains, the business can only continue to trade as a Limited Liability Partnership for 6 months (from the date of the deceased partner’s death). After this the Limited Liability Partnership status will be lost, unless an additional partner is appointed.

Once you notify us of the bereavement, we’ll get in touch to help you with the next steps.

If the deceased was a signatory on your mandate, the authorised signatories and instructions may need updating to make sure there are at least two remaining signatories on the mandate.