What Happens to Direct Debits When Someone Dies?

There is no need to do this all at once. Most direct debits simply stop when the bank freezes the account, and the companies concerned will write to say a payment failed. What matters in the first few weeks is making sure the few payments that protect the estate, such as the home insurance, do not quietly lapse.

When do direct debits stop?

A bank only knows about a death when someone tells it, either directly, through its bereavement team, or through a service such as the Death Notification Service. From that point the bank freezes any account held in the person's sole name. Card payments, direct debits and standing orders stop leaving the account.

Payments that went out between the death and the bank being told are not usually reversed by the bank. Whether any of that money can be recovered depends on what the payment was for, which is covered below.

Telling government departments through Tell Us Once does not tell the bank. Banks, utility companies and other private organisations have to be contacted separately.¹

Before you tell the bank: the payments to protect

A few regular payments keep the estate safe while probate is sorted out. If they lapse, the estate can lose money. Look through the last two or three bank statements and find these first:

• Buildings and contents insurance. Tell the insurer about the death and that the home may be empty. Many policies limit cover once a property has been unoccupied for a set period, so ask what conditions apply.
• Mortgage. Tell the lender. Interest keeps running, and the lender will explain what it needs from the executor. See what happens to a mortgage when someone dies.
• Council tax. Tell the council. An empty home left by someone who has died may be exempt or charged differently while probate is being obtained, and the council will tell you what applies.
• Ground rent, service charges and the like for a leasehold property.

Ask each company to put the account in the name of "the executors of" or "the estate of" the person who died, and to send future bills to you.

Which payments to cancel

Most other regular payments can simply be cancelled by contacting the company and giving the date of death. They usually ask for a copy of the death certificate. Typical examples:

Pension and benefit payments that arrive after the death are usually overpayments and will be taken back from the estate. It is simplest to leave them where they are rather than spend them. See stopping the State Pension and benefits.

Joint accounts

A joint bank account normally passes straight to the surviving account holder, so it is not frozen and its direct debits keep going.² The survivor should still tell the bank so the name can be removed, and check whether each payment still makes sense. A subscription only the person who died used, for example, can be cancelled. More detail is in what happens to joint bank accounts.

Refunds for payments taken after the death

A direct debit taken after the death is not automatically wrong. If it paid a genuine bill, such as gas used before the death, it settled a debt the estate would have had to pay anyway. Where a payment was for something nobody can now use, such as a gym membership, streaming service or magazine, ask the company to refund anything taken after the date of death. Many will do so on sight of the death certificate. Refunds belong to the estate, so they should go back into the estate account rather than to a family member.

Paying bills while the account is frozen

Bills owed by the person who died are paid from the estate by the executor or administrator once money can be released.³ Two things help in the meantime:

• Many banks will pay a funeral director's invoice directly from a frozen account, and some will release money for other essential costs. Ask the bereavement team what they allow.
• If you pay an essential bill yourself, keep the receipt. It is an estate expense and you can normally be repaid from the estate before it is shared out.

Please do not use the person's bank card or online banking after the death, even for a bill you know is owed. The authority to use their accounts ended when they died, and it can cause problems later when the estate accounts are drawn up.

Keeping track

Write down every payment you find, who you contacted, the date, and what was agreed: stopped, moved to the estate, or refund requested. You will need the same list when you prepare the estate accounts, and it saves repeating calls when a company writes months later.

Frequently asked questions

Do direct debits stop automatically when someone dies?

Not at the moment of death. They stop when the bank is told about the death and freezes the person's own accounts. Until then, payments can keep leaving the account as normal.

What happens to direct debits on a joint account when one person dies?

A joint account usually passes to the surviving holder and is not frozen, so its direct debits carry on. The survivor should tell the bank so the name is removed, and review which payments still make sense.

Can I get back money taken by direct debit after the death?

For a genuine bill, such as gas used before the death, the payment simply settled a debt the estate owed. For subscriptions and services nobody can now use, ask the company for a refund of payments taken after the date of death. Many will agree when you send a copy of the death certificate.

Who pays the bills once the account is frozen?

Bills owed by the person who died are paid from the estate, by the executor or administrator, once money is available. If you pay an essential bill from your own money in the meantime, keep the receipt: it is an estate expense you can normally be repaid from the estate.