Recently, a mother from Jiangxi went to the bank to withdraw the remaining balance of 55,000 RMB left by her deceased son, only to be rejected by the bank, sparking heated discussion among netizens.
According to the Jiangxi court on June 21st, Mrs. Wu’s son, Mr. Li, opened an account at a bank in Yingtan, Jiangxi, on March 21, 2017. By August 9, 2023, the account balance exceeded 55,000 yuan.
On May 1, 2023, Mr. Li passed away. Mrs. Wu requested to withdraw the above-mentioned deposit, but the bank refused to process it citing uncertainty over whether Mrs. Wu was the sole heir.
Further investigation revealed that Mr. Li was unmarried and had no children, and his mother, Mrs. Wu, raised him as a single mother. Mrs. Wu claimed she couldn’t confirm Mr. Li’s biological father and sued the bank to pay out Mr. Li’s deposit at the bank.
After reviewing the case, the court in Yuehu District, Yingtan City, determined that Mr. Li had a savings deposit contract with the bank during his lifetime, and after his death, the rights and obligations in the savings deposit contract are inherited by Mr. Li’s legal heirs. Therefore, the court supported Mrs. Wu’s demand for the bank to pay out Mr. Li’s balance at the bank.
The court also stated that after a depositor’s death, the deposit becomes part of the inheritance to be inherited by the legal heirs, but without the passcode, it cannot be withdrawn. Usually, to prove their identity and authority to withdraw the deceased depositor’s deposit, legal heirs need to go to a notary office to obtain a notarial certificate to establish the inheritance of the assets, and based on this, the bank will then proceed with the transfer or payment process.
Regarding this case, mainland netizens have been actively discussing:
“Some banks allow withdrawals up to 45,000 at the counter with the passcode, or 10,000 at the ATM; or split the transaction into two withdrawals.”
“If the heir knows the passcode but still can’t withdraw, it’s because the bank requires the depositor to be physically present to sign for withdrawals.”
“Banks make money from the difference in deposit and loan interests. From a profit perspective, they will set up various obstacles by prolonging the process.”
“It is already a tragedy to lose a loved one, leaving behind only assets, the poor mother shouldn’t be troubled further!”
“If it was a loan, the bank wouldn’t need the mother to contact them; they would immediately reach out to her.”
“Banks operate in a way to make money, and there is a significant amount of unclaimed money that goes straight into their pockets. It’s not common to hear them proactively reaching out to relatives of the deceased to claim the money back, and even when they do, they come up with various reasons to withhold it.”
In recent years, there have been several cases where family members of deceased depositors were denied access to the funds at banks.
Prior to this incident, topics like “79-year-old man denied access to deceased son’s 410,000 deposits,” “Father passes away, 3 million deposits inaccessible,” “Wife denied access to 60,000 deposits after husband’s death,” “Man had 1.9 million deposits before passing, widow denied access,” have frequently hit the trending lists.
According to a report by China Securities Journal, staff at multiple bank branches in Beijing indicated that cases of relatives being denied access to the deposits of the deceased family members do occur, especially when elderly individuals pass away, and their children try to withdraw funds at the bank.
An employee at a branch of Minsheng Bank in Beijing mentioned encountering two cases recently, where one involved a withdrawal of over 100,000 yuan unable to be processed on the spot.
He explained, “If you know the passcode, withdrawals below 50,000 can be done through small deposit withdrawals. With the death certificate of the deceased account holder, ID, bank card, the extractor’s ID, and proof of direct lineage, withdrawals can be processed directly. If you don’t know the passcode or the withdrawal amount exceeds 50,000 yuan, you’ll need to obtain relevant documents from the notary office.”