Will beneficiary query/advice please?

[daihard]

Evening,

I'm a long time reader of these forums, but a first time poster and have a query I was hoping someone here would be able to assist me with?

My grandmother of Austrian birth recently passed away and whilst dealing with her finances my mother discovered she had about 7000 Euros in an Austrian bank account. As an only child, my mother is the sole beneficiary of her mother's will.

My mother has provided the bank with all the documentation and details they have requested, but they maintain she will need to use an Austrian notary to oversee the legal issues in transferring this amount to her UK bank account, which I believe is Natwest.

The main sticking point is that the notary recommended by the bank will charge roughly 20% of the amount that is in the account and have told her it would take between four and six months to complete.

Does this sound about right or would this be something that could be done by my mother herself? She is going to speak to her bank next week, but I thought I'd ask here first for some impartial advice.

Thanks in advance.

[megaphone]

No idea of Austrian laws, did your grandmother die in the UK? Did she leave a will? Who is/are the executors of the will?

In this country it would be a matter of obtaining a probate letter, that and a death certificate are usually enough to release bank funds to the executors.

Edited by megaphone on Monday 7th April 08:22

[pacoryan]

I'm pretty sure you will be able to find a Notary Public in the UK who can do it, might be worth asking the Austrian Embassy?

[daihard]

Thanks for the responses.

Yes, she died in the UK and was a UK citizen. She left a will and named my mother as the sole executor. My mother also tells me probate has been arranged.

Thanks for the suggestion to contact the embassy too, its something we hadn't considered.