Money in the bank when someone dies? My bureaucratic nightmare trying to recover it.

A few days ago, I faced one of the most stressful situations after losing my father: trying to withdraw his money from the bank. What a nightmare! And just now that the new regulation will come into effect on June 1, it would have saved me a lot of headaches.

The reality is harsh: when a loved one passes away, there are two huge obstacles to accessing their money: being unable to check the accounts and being unable to withdraw the funds. And no one explains this to you when you are dealing with grief!

To begin with, how the hell do you figure out what bank cards they had? If you can't find documentation at home, you're lost. Some banks offer deceased account inquiry services, but only in certain regions and with a thousand requirements.

Once you find the cards, checking the balance is another ordeal. If you have the password, you can use the ATM. If not, get ready for an endless parade of paperwork: death certificate, ID documents, proof of kinship... as if I had to prove that "my mother is my mother"! Absurd.

The most outrageous thing is that banks used to only show you transactions after death. What good is that? I need to know if someone emptied the accounts while my father was ill! Finally, the new regulation will allow us to see the last 6 months of transactions, although to be honest, as a lawyer I tell you that it should be 12 months to resolve real disputes.

To withdraw money, it all depends on the amount. If it is less than 50,000 yuan per bank (attention, PER BANK, not in total), the process is "simplified": you only need a death certificate, your identification, a signed letter promising that you are not stealing, and proof of kinship.

If it exceeds that amount, prepare for bureaucratic hell: gather ALL the heirs ( and what if they live in another country? ), obtain notarized inheritance certification or, worse yet, go to court if there are disagreements.

A friend told me that he has been unable to access his family member's money for 11 YEARS because he needs 117 documents from people he doesn't even know. The money is there, but it's as if it doesn't exist!

Banks hide behind "security", but this is torture for families in vulnerable times. Meanwhile, the money there, frozen, generating interest for them.

At least the new regulations improve the situation somewhat. Personal advice: document your accounts and passwords while you are alive, and leave clear instructions. Don't put your family through what I am going through.