Life Events Guidance

The reporting of death may be forwarded by a successor, a person covering the funeral expenses, or another person. The person who reported the death does not have to provide his or her data unless he or she requests the payment of funeral expenses. In this case, we ask for the contact details (name, phone number) of the payment applicant so that the bank can contact this person, if necessary.

The bank may be notified of the client’s death in the following ways:

• verbally (e.g. at the branch, by calling the Customer Service Centre or client executive);
• in writing (e.g. email, bank notice, letter by post, chat);
• by presenting a death certificate;
• with an inquiry submitted by a notary or an enforcement agent’s notice of the inventory of the estate;
• by presenting a certificate of succession.

We usually ask for a death certificate.
If there is no death certificate and the death is registered in Estonia, we can check from the Population Register whether the client’s death has been registered.
If the death is registered abroad, the original or a notarised copy of the death certificate issued abroad has to be apostilled (except for the document issued in the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Ukraine, and the Republic of Poland, the French Republic, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Republic of Ireland and the Italian Republic). The document has to be in Estonian, English, or Russian or translated into one of the above languages. The translation has to be notarised and apostilled.

After the client’s death, the bank issues information about the client and their account to the following persons:

• to the person who has covered the funeral expenses – in what amount and whether it is possible to pay the sum intended to cover the funeral expenses;
• to the client’s spouse, adult children, and parents without requiring a notarial certificate of succession (if a death certificate and proof of kinship have been presented and the balance of the account(s) is below EUR 2,000) – in what amount it is possible to pay the sum;
• to the successor(s) on the basis of a certificate of succession issued by a notary, indicating that they are successors – information about all the transactions/agreements that were concluded with regard to the account. Each successor may submit an inquiry independently of the other successors, but the inquiry may not be paid for at the expense of the estate. In the request, one must specify what information the successor wants.
• Information about all the transactions/agreements that were concluded with regard to the account can only be issued to the prospective successors on the basis of a document certifying kinship (birth certificate; marriage certificate) and for good reason. A good reason is, for example, that the person has died abroad and the succession proceedings are being carried out abroad. In order to compile the inventory, the successors have to compile a list of the bequeather’s assets and liabilities themselves. To this end, they also need to know the balance of the bequeather’s account with the bank as of the date of death. The inquiry may not be paid for at the expense of the estate.

If agreements for the payment of invoices have been concluded in the name of the deceased, each recipient has to be notified separately of the death of the owner of the agreement. The successor has the right to terminate the agreements at the bank (provided in the documents certifying the right of succession).
If the client’s account(s) has/have a total of EUR 0, the agreements and account(s) may be closed by the person who reported the client’s death.

If the bank has become aware of the client’s death, the powers of attorneys (internal/notarial) issued before the client’s death no longer apply. In other words, the powers of attorneys issued will expire at the moment of the client’s death.

To cover the funeral expenses, the bank pays a lump sum of up to EUR 2,000 within one month of the client’s death. The amount will be paid to one of these persons:

• the amount payable to a person in whose name receipts and invoices for funeral expenses have been submitted (including invoices not yet paid) is equal to the amount of the receipts and invoices, up to a maximum of EUR 2,000;
• to the spouse, adult child, parent, partner, sibling or brother or sister of the deceased client on presentation of the original death certificate. No proof of kinship is required.

The cash payout or transfer service fee is included in the amount to be paid out.
Amounts withdrawn by bank card or transferred after the client’s death are deducted from the amount to be paid out.
Payment of funeral expenses is the bank’s decision, not a legal obligation.

To receive the funeral benefit, the applicant must submit:

• the original death certificate;
• the identity document of the payment applicant;
• the receipts and invoices for funeral expenses (copies of the documents remain with the bank).

The receipts/invoices related to the organisation of a funeral have to contain the name of the deceased and the name of the applicant of the death grant (payer). In addition, the expenditure documents have to include all the required information, such as the details of the service provider, date, invoice number, description of the service/goods.

The amount intended to cover the funeral expenses can be paid remotely. To this end, the applicant for the death grant:

• has to be a client of Swedbank;
• has to ensure that the bank as this person’s valid identity document;
• has to send the receipts and/or invoices related to the funeral organisation to parimistunnistus@swedbank.ee;
• has to be technically capable of digitally signing documents.

Once the receipts/invoices have been submitted and it is possible to make the payment for covering the funeral expenses, the required documents will be sent to the grant applicant for digital signature. When the grant applicant sends back the digitally signed documents, a transfer will be made from the deceased client’s account to cover the funeral expenses.

The amount intended to cover funeral expenses is paid to the person:

• in whose name receipts and invoices for funeral expenses have been submitted (including invoices not yet paid); the mount to be paid is equal to the amount of the receipts and invoices, up to a maximum of EUR 2,000;
• who is the spouse, adult child, parent, partner, sibling, brother or sister of the deceased client upon presentation of the original death certificate, but not more than EUR 2,000. Submission of proof of kinship is not required.

In order to agree on the fulfilment of the liabilities with Swedbank AS, please contact us at volgnevused@swedbank.ee.

Succession is possible based on law, will, or succession contract. Succession takes place based on law if the bequeather has not left a will or succession contract.
Intestate successors are the bequeather’s spouse and relatives. First-order successors are the bequeather’s children in equal parts. If there are no children, there will be second-order successors, i.e. the bequeather’s parents, and siblings.
The spouse always succeeds alongside the relatives and his or her share of the estate depends on the order of successors alongside whom he or she succeeds. If the deceased has no relatives or a spouse, the estate will go to the local government or the state.

It is possible to renounce succession. However, it is not possible to succeed the estate by renouncing the liabilities that come with it. This means that when accepting the estate, the successor will also be responsible for all liabilities under the estate. But if you want to give up the liabilities, you also have to give up other assets.
If you have decided to accept the estate and the estate also includes the bequeather’s liabilities (e.g. home loan), you can start fulfilling them before receiving the documents certifying the right of succession. To agree on the fulfilment of the liabilities with Swedbank AS, please contact us at volgnevused@swedbank.ee.
The request to renounce the estate has to be notarised because if the successors fail to do so within three months, the estate is automatically deemed to have been accepted.

In any case, the successors have to contact a notary to formalise their right of succession. Please note that a will alone is not a document certifying the right of succession and the bank does not convert the estate based on this.
It is necessary to allow time for succession, as the average succession proceedings take 2–6 months. The cost of the procedure is around EUR 250.
More information about succession is available on the website of the Chamber of Notaries at www.notar.ee.

Once you have received the documents certifying the right of succession from a notary, you can contact your bank.

In order to change the name of the successor(s) of the estate held in Swedbank, the documents certifying the right of succession must be forwarded to the bank. There are three forwarding options:

• the notary sends them to the contacts agreed with the bank;
• the successor sends them, with their contact details, to parimistunnistus@swedbank.ee;
• the successor brings them to the bank branch; to do this, please book a consultation.

Once the documents proving the right to succession have been submitted to the bank (even if they have been submitted through a bank branch), a bank employee will contact the successor(s) within 7 working days to agree on a time and place for the meeting.
The estate is changed remotely or at a bank branch. All successors must be present at the branch. If it is not possible for all the successors to visit a branch together, they can prepare a power of attorney to represent themselves.
For succession purposes, a representative may be appointed on the basis of a notarial power of attorney, a digitally signed bank power of attorney, a power of attorney drawn up at a bank branch or a court order. The power of attorney must include the right to execute the succession.

The bank pays a lump sum of up to EUR 2000 to cover funeral expenses within one month of the client’s death. After the expiry of the one-month period, the bank will pay the estate only based on a certificate of succession or a certificate of right of ownership. The amount is paid based on the official expenditure documents and provided that the money is present in the deceased’s account.

If the deceased client’s account(s) has/have a total of EUR 200 or less, the payment will be made without requiring a notarial certificate of succession (except in case of credit liabilities) to the deceased client’s spouse, adult children, or parents. The payment will also be made if more than one month has passed since the death of the account holder.

More detailed information about the payment of the death grant is available here.

Succession procedures can also be carried out remotely – this means that the successor does not have to be present at the bank branch, but signs the necessary documents digitally.
To start, the notary or the successor must send a digitally signed certificate of succession to the bank at parimistunnistus@swedbank.ee. Once the documents have been submitted, a bank employee will contact the successor(s) within 7 working days to agree on the next steps.
In order to change the estate, the successor(s) and, where applicable, their authorised representative(s) must have digital signature capability.
For succession purposes, a representative may be appointed on the basis of a notarial power of attorney, a digitally signed bank power of attorney, a power of attorney drawn up at a bank branch or a court order.

A guardian is a legal representative appointed by a court ruling for a minor or an adult with restricted legal capacity.

The guardianship, or court ruling, takes effect from the moment it is communicated to the guardian.

A guardian is appointed for an adult with restricted active legal capacity on a temporary basis for a period of up to 6 months, or for a period of up to 5 years in the case of permanent restricted active legal capacity. After this period has elapsed, the court will reassess whether an extension of the guardianship is necessary. If necessary, the guardianship will be extended. If the need ceases to exist, a new court ruling shall be made terminating the guardianship. In the case of minors a guardian may also be appointed until the individual becomes an adult.

A guardian may be assigned to either manage all affairs or to perform specific transactions. The scope of the guardian’s duties depends on the court ruling.

Authorised acts are the result of a court ruling (resolution + explanations of the court), which has been digitally signed by the judge or a paper copy that has been stamped/signed by the court.

A guardian can be granted both custody over a person as well as custody over property.

Custody over property is required to represent you before a bank. Similarly to a power of attorney, a court ruling does not usually specify bank-specific activities, such as opening/closing a current account.

The guardian can perform all transactions on behalf of the account holder (unless otherwise specified in the ruling), including opening/closing an account, managing the account, entering into a debit card contract/teleservices agreement. The guardian is the client’s legal representative.

The guardian may only order a debit card in the name of the ward if the ward has been granted the right to carry out minor transactions by a court ruling or if the ward has been granted a certain monthly amount for free use by a court ruling (this amount must be specifically mentioned in the court ruling). The debit card limit must be within the amount set. The guardian cannot set a higher limit.

The guardian has the right to order a debit card in his/her own name.

The guardian must submit a court ruling to the bank on the basis of which the person’s legal capacity is restricted and a guardian has been appointed. The guardian must be a registered client of the bank and have a valid identity document. We also need to have a valid identity document for the ward, in order to carry out a transaction on behalf of the ward.

If the guardian is a local authority (rural municipality/city municipality), the following must be provided:

• Court ruling regarding the appointing of a guardian.
• A city/municipality order or power of attorney, with which official(s) is (are) appointed to exercise guardianship on behalf of the municipality. The order does not have to contain name or personal identification code of the ward if it will be submitted together with the court ruling establishing guardianship.
• NB! The representative appointed by the city or rural municipality is not a legal representative, but an authorised representative.

A court judgment/ruling appointing a guardian that has been issued abroad must be recognised by Harju County Court (the court will issue a separate court ruling regarding approval).

If a legal person has been appointed as the guardian, then the Bank shall accept the legal representative of the registered legal person as the representative.

If the court has not appointed a guardian for a minor without a guardian, the minor may be represented in the bank by a legal representative (rural municipality mayor, or mayor in the case of a city) or a person appointed (authorised) by the city or rural municipality government. The authorised person must submit a document certifying that legal acts have been carried out on behalf of the minor without a guardian, which must be in the form of an order (Order) or a power of attorney. The order shall be signed by the mayor and the city secretary or by the rural municipality mayor and the rural municipality secretary. The mayor or the mayor of the rural municipality signs the power of attorney.

NB! The caregiver is not the legal representative of the client. A foster care contract does not give the caregiver/person representing the foster family the right to represent the child placed in the foster family in banking transactions. The existence of such a right requires the submission of the aforementioned Order.

The digitally signed documents certifying the establishment or termination of guardianship must be sent to the Bank’s general e-mail address info@swedbank.ee.

NB! The Bank will not carry out transactions on the basis of a digitally signed guardianship document submitted to us on paper.