The bank would not release the information because Sam had not been appointed to act on behalf of his sister’s estate.

Our investigation

Sam complained to us. He wanted our help to get this information. We told him we could not help him because the administration of his sister’s estate had not yet been fully resolved. To help, we would need a waiver of confidentiality from the administrator of the estate or someone appointed to act on behalf of the estate, such as a lawyer. The relationship between a bank and its customer is confidential, and this duty of confidentiality also applies to the estate of a deceased customer. Sam said he was hopeful someone from the family would be appointed the administrator soon. 

Outcome

We told Sam the administrator, once appointed, could contact us if the bank would not release the information to that person.