Administering a death estate begins when a loved one dies. It is followed by funeral arrangements and management of affairs, payment of bills and preparing the estate inventory.

Before the estate inventory

What should be kept in mind before an estate inventory? Read our instructions related to the decedent’s extract from the population register and paying their debts and bills and managing their other banking affairs.

We will send our letter of condolences to our banking customers to the estate’s address in about one month after the death. The letter contains further information about the deceased person’s customer relationship with us. This includes information about any e-invoices, direct payments and investment services, as well as the template for the power of attorney. If necessary, you can pick up the documents at any OP cooperative bank branch.

If, for example, the deceased person’s spouse or any other person has extensive access rights to the decedent’s bank account and this person’s digital services with OP are linked to the decedent’s account, this person should contact us to change the account. OP’s digital services can no longer be used after the access rights to the death estate’s account have been cancelled.

 

Decedent’s extract from the population register


What is the extract from the population register, and why is it needed? How do I get the extract?

  • Extract from the population register refers to an extract of personal information and information about family relations stored in the Population Information System or a church membership record. 
  • Extract from the population register can also refer to a life certificate or a report on family relationships. The extract from the population register proves that you are a distributee of the estate.
  • You can order an extract from the population register for various purposes. An extract from the population register indicating the person’s family relations and changes of residence is required. An extract from the population register acquired for an estate inventory is also sufficient for managing banking affairs. If you need to quickly get an extract from the population register for banking purposes, you can acquire a more limited extract from the population register for banking purposes.
  • Order the decedent’s extract from the population register from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency or from the decedent’s parish. 
  • Submit an extract from the population register that proves that you are a distributee to us easily online or bring it to the nearest OP cooperative bank branch.

Decedent’s bills and debts


Do I need to pay the decedent’s debts? Who pays the decedent’s debts? How do I pay the decedent’s bills after their death? Read how to get started with handling the deceased person’s bills and debts.

Bills

  • Before the estate inventory, you may use the decedent’s bank account to pay for reasonable funeral expenses, other bills clearly related to the death, the decedent’s electricity bills and the housing company’s charge for common expenses. Any individual distributee may pay these expenses without a power of attorney from other distributees.
  • Pay the estate’s bills by sending them to us in the online service. You can also pay bills at the bank branch during the opening hours of cashier services. Bring along your personal ID document. You can’t use payment envelopes before the estate inventory has been completed and you have been authorised access to the account.
  • Check any e-invoices and direct payments of the death estate and terminate any unnecessary bills by phone or by visiting an OP cooperative bank branch. Otherwise, the payments continue to be billed normally. A list of the deceased person’s e-invoices and direct payments is enclosed in the letter of condolences. You can also pick up the documents at any OP cooperative bank branch.

Please take note of the estate’s assets and ensure that they are sufficient to cover any expenses. If you suspect that the estate’s assets are insufficient to cover the expenses for the funeral and the estate inventory, be sure to get in touch with us. 

Loans

Did the decedent have a home loan or other debts? Contact us as soon as possible so that we can assess the decedent’s debts and agree a possible repayment holiday for the duration of the estate inventory.

If you are a distributee of a death estate, and you have an extract from the population register, you can apply for a repayment holiday for the decedent’s loans. If the loan has co-borrowers, you will need their consent for the application. If the death estate has several distributees, you may also need their consent.

How to apply for a repayment holiday for the loans of a death estate:

If you do not apply for a repayment holiday, the payments on the loan will continue as usual. Loans and other debts must be paid from any assets that the death estate may have. As a general rule, the decedent’s debts are not inherited if the affairs of the death estate have been duly managed.

Contracts and subscriptions

Contracts signed by the deceased during their lifetime, such as phone and newspaper subscriptions, will not automatically end upon death. Terminate any unnecessary contracts and subscriptions and agree on possible repayment arrangements with the payees while taking account of the estate’s assets.

Consumer credit and card-based credit

In the event of death, a three-month repayment holiday will be set automatically on consumer credit, such as Special Consumer Credit and Flexible Consumer Credit. After the repayment holiday, the payments on Special Consumer Credit and Flexible Consumer Credit will continue normally unless otherwise agreed.

In the event of death, a three-month repayment holiday will be set automatically on credit cards (OP Classic, OP Gold, OP Platinum, OP Duo). After the three-month period, any card-based credit will fall due for repayment in one instalment unless otherwise agreed.

Assets

Did the decedent leave assets as an inheritance, such as an apartment, forest, land ownership, shares or funds? You do not yet need to have plans for them – you can start by contacting the bank and discussing your options.

Preparing the estate inventory


Begin preparing the estate inventory in good time by acquiring information on the estate’s assets and finding out whether the decedent left a last will and testament or a safe deposit box.

  • To prepare the estate inventory, you will need information about the extent of the banking affairs related to the deceased and possible widowed spouse on the date of death. The information is required for all banking groups with which the deceased had business dealings. For OP cooperative bank customers, this information is provided in the customer status declaration. Depending on the OP cooperative bank, the customer status declaration is either delivered with the letter of condolences or can be collected from any OP cooperative bank branch.
  • The deceased may have left a last will and testament in their personal files or deposited in the bank. The customer status declaration lists whether the deceased had a safe deposit box or documents in the bank’s custody. Visit the bank branch to make an inventory of the safe deposit box for the estate inventory. Please book an appointment for the inventory of the safe deposit box by phone.
  • We recommend using the services of a legal professional specialising in family law to prepare the estate inventory deed.