Me and My Money

4 Lessons From the Death of My Father

Posted February 27, 2012
Originally Published February 27, 2012

On January 31 my nearly 90-year-old Dad died, ending a journey which started in England, took him to India for his school years, into bomber aircraft during World War 2 and finally to Canada where he had one career in the air force, a second as a university administrator and, in his fifties, a third one as a lawyer.  He never had a lot of money but the world of finance, economics and investing fascinated him.  I think he was always a bit disappointed when writing diverted me from becoming an economist.

Dad bought mutual funds in their early days and ventured into exchange traded funds (investments which track or mimic an index) back when they were called index products.  That got me interested in them long before they became popular with the public.  He also dabbled in stocks from time to time.

Despite my urging Dad never had a plan for his small RRIF portfolio. As a result, it was lumpy, all of one thing then all of something else.  But because he had a defined benefit pension plan what happened in his RRIF didn’t change his life.  He enjoyed looking up his investments in the paper every morning and kept tidy files on his various holdings.  He also maintained a list of his accounts, bills and passwords in a safety deposit box.  That was an early lesson in financial organization for me.

When someone dies things happen quickly.  Executors, such as I am for my father’s estate, have many decisions to make.  Unfortunately, financial institutions move quickly also.  After I inquired about the process of winding up my father’s affairs the bank swiftly cancelled his debit and client cards and removed his name from chequing and savings accounts.

Lesson #1 – It is helpful to have a joint account with an elderly person when you are managing their financial lives. 

I was joint with my father, but until he died didn’t realize the implications.  Suddenly all transactions in his name ceased.  Since my power of attorney ended with his death, if the account hadn’t been in both names I couldn’t have paid bills or withdrawn cash.

Also, without access to his account online I couldn’t ensure all was in order without going into the bank physically with the will in hand.

Lesson #2 – Watch accounts like a hawk.  Banks don’t always follow their own rules.  I was told that any deposits in my father’s name would be returned in order to be re-issued to The Estate of Peter Griffiths.  Automatic debits should have been treated the same way.  But three days after he died, the bank put through a large payment to his retirement residence.

I had already given the residence notice and, since they had the last month’s rent in hand, withdrawals should have stopped.  Fortunately, I happened to check the account, noticed the debit and had it reversed the same day.

Lesson #3 – An authorized user’s access to a credit card ends when the primary account holder dies. 

The bank mistakenly made me an authorized user on my father’s credit card rather than a joint cardholder last fall.  I intended to correct this but never got around to it.  So when I tried to pay for his funeral with the card it was denied.

Also, I couldn’t see the statement on-line because I now only had access to the two bank accounts not the RRIF or credit card.  Just recently I got a “courtesy call” from his branch telling me his Visa bill was overdue, though it was only one day past the payment date.   The person would not tell me what the balance was nor would she fax me the bill.  I informed her that I didn’t intend to pay a bill I couldn’t see but she was obdurate. 

When I phoned the bank’s estate department directly I got lucky with someone who was willing to “bend the rules.”  He read me all the charges in the last three weeks, plus the balance.

However, since the card essentially no longer existed and wasn’t attached to the bank account I had access to, I couldn’t pay the balance by transferring funds from the chequing account as I had always done.  The only option was to come into the branch with a cheque or mail it.  Being out of the country for the next few weeks, I chose the latter.

Lesson #4 – Talk directly to the brokerage when closing a RRIF.

A bank branch advisor categorically told me that the proceeds from my father’s RRIF could not be deposited in the bank account, now only in my name, or even in an estate account.  Instead, it had to go to the beneficiary.  I explained the RRIF had been my mother’s, was transferred to my father when she died and there was no beneficiary.   The employee was firm.

It was a different story at the bank’s brokerage arm.  They offered me a number of options for the RRIF including a cheque payable to the estate, which I, as executor, could then deposit.   However, the helpful person did tell me that whether I was able to deposit the cheque in the account in my name or be required to open an estate account depended on “my relationship with the bank.”  Such lack of clear policy is disturbing. 

These four lessons are important considerations for those with elderly parents.  Though many are concerned, and rightly so, with elder financial abuse a little bit of foresight can make it far easier to manage an estate at an emotional time when nothing is easy.

I just know my Dad is smiling somewhere and saying, “I’m glad I can still teach you a thing or two.”

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