How to Find Bank Accounts of a Deceased Person

Losing a loved one brings many practical questions, and one of the first ones is often about their finances. This naturally leads to many people wondering whether or not they can locate a deceased person's bank accounts.

However, this isn't as simple as swiping a card or checking mobile banking apps on their phone. Banking privacy laws require a set of legal actions before someone can locate the bank accounts of a deceased person, let alone having access to the funds.

In this article, we will walk you through the lawful steps to take for finding bank accounts of a deceased person. If you're asking how to find bank accounts of a deceased person, read on to get your answers.

Can You Find the Bank Accounts of a Deceased Person?

When someone dies, their bank accounts don't just disappear. Everything they've had in their bank account remains in there, but accessing it requires following specific legal steps.

Therefore, yes, it is possible to find the bank accounts of a deceased person, but only through lawful routes. However, banks and governments won't allow strangers to find out whether a deceased person had a bank account or not. You must be the rightful heir or a joint owner, and you must follow a legal process called probate. The executor and the administrator can also locate the bank accounts of a deceased person.

How to Find Bank Accounts of a Deceased Person

When it comes to finding the bank accounts of a deceased person, there are several actions you can take. While some involve the legal processes that must be taken eventually, others are quick ways that will enable you to simply find their account. However, not all methods we will list below lead to having access to the bank account. Keep this in mind when trying to find the bank accounts of a deceased person.

The deceased person's will or the estate papers can help you quickly locate their bank accounts. These documents often list bank names and account details, allowing you to find their bank accounts without much hassle.

If the deceased person hired a lawyer or a financial advisor to help manage their estate, they can also guide you to the banks that hold the accounts. This is directly connected to starting the probate process, so you will need to have their will in order to begin the legal procedures.

If the person didn't have a will, we have more methods that can help below. However, if you're a family member of the deceased or the next of kin, you will need to file a petition with the probate court to become the administrator of the estate, which will give you the legal authority to find the deceased's bank accounts, contact banks, and access the funds.

If the deceased died intestate, meaning without a will, check their mail, emails, and files to look for leads to locate a bank account. Bank statements, checkbooks, tax documents, digital banking promotions, and other financial documents can help you locate their bank accounts. You can then write down a list of banks to contact once the legal procedures are over.

Credit reports are one of the best resources for finding the bank accounts of a deceased person. They list the active and closed accounts, any loans the deceased has taken, and credit cards. You can look through these to locate the bank accounts of the deceased. When searching the deceased's records, look for credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, which are three major credit bureaus, to find their bank accounts.

How to Find Bank Accounts of a Deceased Person if You Aren't Related to Them

If you aren't related to the deceased person and have no access to their belongings, it doesn't mean you're helpless. You can run a people search on the deceased person to discover publicly available financial information, such as property records, bankruptcy filings, business registrations, civil records, and certain tax-related filings that can get you closer to finding their bank accounts.

This also works when you're related to the deceased person, as there's only a handful of places you can look at, especially if the death is recent. As you wait for the legal procedures to finish up, you can run a people search on them to discover their public financial information, which can give you leads to find their bank accounts.

How to Find the Bank Accounts of a Deceased Person: A Summary

Our article covered a variety of actions you can take to find the bank accounts of a deceased person. While what we went over can help, it is best to seek legal help, especially if the deceased held a large amount of money in their bank account. It can help you finish the legal procedures without any problems and quickly.