How to Get Back Your Old Bank Balance from a Forgotten Account

Posted on 2014 03 01 by BetCrooks

This week I read a story in the National Post* about how many dollars ($532 million) are sitting in the Bank of Canada vaults waiting for their owners (1.4 million of them) to claim them. The money legally belongs to Canadians and it doesn’t require wiring any funds to Nigeria to get at it. Personally I hold onto my money as tightly as a limpet does an ocean rock at low tide so there is no chance any of those “lost accounts” belong to me. One once belonged to a close personal relative though! If one belongs to you, here’s how to get your old bank balance back from a forgotten account.

* For some reason we’re getting the Post for free this week. One of the advantages (?) of our neighbourhood is we often get newspapers for free as they try to hook us on them and get us to subscribe. The weirdest year was when we were getting the TorStar because the Blue Jays had sponsored it.

You may be wondering why the Bank of Canada now is the proud home of your $28.17.

Essentially, Canadian banks are regulated. To keep things honest, there are rules about how long an account can be left inactive. If an account at a regular bank branch (or credit union etc.) has been inactive for more than 10 years, the balance is transferred to the Bank of Canada. They hold onto balances of under $1000 for another 30 years. They hold onto balances of over $1000 for 100 years. If no one claims those balances within the holding period they are given to the Receiver General for Canada, a.k.a. the federal government ~~who will promptly spend it on Senators’ expenses~~.

Who Could Possibly Forget They Had a Bank Account with Money In It?

Frankly, many of these accounts belong to people who have died. They may have had two or more bank accounts and their heirs only knew about one. Or they may not have had any heirs.

Other accounts belong to people who suffered from a mental illness and lost track of them.

Some, like my relative’s, got transferred to the Bank of Canada due to negligence. He always planned to visit the bank and get the money out but he procrastinated so long it ended up inactive.

I suspect, but I cannot prove, that some accounts are left open with tiny balances because the financial institution will charge a large fee to close the account. I’ve certainly heard anecdotally that this happens.

And, some, as this witty post by IPlom on RedFlagDeals pointed out, belong to people who have so much money they literally don’t care about the nickels and dimes:

The Bank of Canada is also holding onto other types of investments including

GICs
bank drafts
term deposits
positive credit card balances (!) and
traveller’s cheques

While it’s hard to imagine anyone having a positive credit card balance, especially since now most CCs charge a $10 fee for any inactive cards with a balance, I can see where someone might have a $50 or $100 traveller’s cheque they misplaced and never cashed.

Where Do I Start to Get My Money Back from an Old Bank Account?

Everything will be easiest if you have your old bank book and you live within a reasonable distance of your old branch. In that case, you can re-claim the balance by visiting that branch and getting the paperwork filled in and submitted.

What if you don’t have a bank book or any statements and you’ve moved half a country away? Don’t worry there’s a process for that too.

Checking Which Old Bank Accounts the Bank of Canada is Holding

If you’re like me and always secretly wished you had a reclusive Great Great Uncle that you’d never met (and therefore would not honestly grieve the loss of) who would suddenly die leaving you the sole heir of hundreds of millions of dollars, you may want to search for more than your own old unclaimed bank accounts at the Bank of Canada.

You can search the Bank of Canada database for the names of any of your relatives. Only the person themselves or a legal heir can claim the money, of course, but if you were heir or part heir of an estate that might be you! Or your rich second cousin twice removed my give you a finder’s fee for reminding them about that paltry $200 000 account they forgot about in Chibougamau.

Besides it’s fun! (Ok, remember my alternative is supervising one of my children memorizing the Periodic Table of Elements. Valences of Tantalum anyone? Anyone at all?)

How to Check Whether the Bank of Canada Has Any Old Accounts Related to You

Open your internet browser and go to the site: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/unclaimed-balances/
Click on the link called Search our unclaimed database.
In the Name: field, type a full or partial name.
From the Province/territory: drop-down list, either leave the default of All or select the specific province or territory of interest.
Click on the Search button.

There is a good explanation of how to enter names on this page.

For example, they explain you can enter: John AND Brown to get a list of all names containing only “John” and only “Brown” such as John Brown; John E Brown; James John Brown Smith; etc.

It also warns the website may crash on the weekends or after hours. If it does, it will not be repaired until regular business hours from Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET. I guess they figure if you’ve waited over 10 years to get your money back, you can wait another few days.

What Information Is Provided by the Bank of Canada About the Unclaimed Balance?

Obviously they are not going to play detective and try to find out lots of information about the money they receive. So their records are only as complete as those of the financial institution that sent them in.

An example record for Jane Smith lists

the name and address of the bank that sent in the money
the amount of money
the date that the bank account was used last
the date the money was sent to the bank of Canada (10 years later on December 31)

If you think that is your bank account, you click on the Claim Form button.

The Unclaimed Balance Information Payment Authorization Form will open.
(It is not valid for a claim by the Estate of a person who has died.)

Print it out.

How to Claim Your Unclaimed Balance from the Bank of Canada

To complete the form

In the Step 1 section of the form, you should fill in your

Name
Address
Phone Number

Then you sign it and date it.

Next, you have to take or send the form, to the branch that held the account. You may want to bring or include copies of any information you have about the account such as your bank book or a statement

That bank has to compare your signature with the information they have on file for the account. If they agree that it matches. They will add their authorizing stamp, name, signature and date to Step 2 of the form.

Then you or they mail the completed form to the Unclaimed Balances Services address given on the form.

How Do I Claim the Unclaimed Balance for an Estate or In Special Circumstances?

There are good detailed explanations of how to make a claim

for an Estate
for an Organization that no longer exists
if the bank branch has closed
for non-bank assets such as a traveller’s cheque

on the Bank of Canada website at: http://www.bankofcanada.ca/unclaimed-balances/how-to-claim/

How Fast Will I Get My Money Back?

The Bank of Canada site says it will take 30-60 days to settle a routine claim. You’ve already waited for at least 10 years, so you should be used to waiting!

Does It Work?

It did for my relative. He sure was glad to get that $17.52 back. Would an Honest Crooks lie to you?

Related Reading

Bank of Canada Unclaimed Balance Page

Join In
Did you or someone you know ever have to reclaim a balance from the Bank of Canada? Did they decide after looking at the paperwork to just donate the money to the government? Please share your experiences with a comment.

Get Ready to Die: Beneficiary and Successor Account Holder Forms for your Online Brokerage Accounts

Posted on 2013 11 13 by BetCrooks

The best time to get ready to die is when your demise is still a long, long time in the future. So if you are young and healthy and life is good, now is the time to get some of your financial paper work in order. One of the best and simplest things to do is to designate who the beneficiary and successor holder should be for your RRSP, RRIF, LIRA, TFSA and other online brokerage accounts.

I’ve been twiddling my thumbs waiting to shuffle off this mortal coil and waiting for my RRSP money to transfer into my new RBC Direct Investing RRSP account, and wondering if I should take bets on which will happen first. (The money left ING Direct on November 7. It’s now November 13 and it’s still “in transit.” What did they send it by? Speedy Snail Delivery Service?)

While waiting, I printed, signed and mailed in the Standard Beneficiary Designation. I’ve already filed similar forms for our BMO InvestorLine and CIBC Investor’s Edge accounts.
In this article, I’ll show you where to find the forms online, after I’ve convinced you that this matters.

Why Should You Designate a Beneficiary for your Accounts? Do You Like Giving the Government Money?

If you designate a beneficiary for your RRSP or RRIF, when you die the assets will be paid out directly to your beneficiary. The money will not be included in the amount on which your estate has to pay probate fees. You (well, you’re dead, so it’s your estate or your heirs) will pay the government less of your hard-earned money.

In some cases, the money will also be allowed to remain tax-sheltered. For example, if I die, my husband will get to add my RRSP money to his own, without ever taking it out of the tax shelter because he is my designated beneficiary. That saves him paying a lot of tax. Instead, he will pay taxes gradually as he makes planned withdrawals from my RRSP in the future.

(Unfortunately, in other cases the money will have to come out of the RRSP and be taxed before going to the beneficiary. For example, if I designated my children as the beneficiaries for my RRSP, the RRSP would be collapsed and the funds taxed before the after-tax proceeds would be distributed. It still wouldn’t incur probate taxes though.)

Designate Your Spouse or Partner as Your Successor Holder for Your TFSA

TFSAs are quirky.

If you have a spouse or a common-law partner whom you have lived with for at least 3 years or with whom you have children, you should designate this spouse/partner as the Successor Holder to your TFSA. According to Gordon Pape’s book “How TFSAs Can Make You Rich” you can only designate this person as a Successor Holder. You can’t designate a friend or other relative.

The Successor Holder will receive the TFSA in kind. They will not have to collapse the plan. They will not have to take the investments out of the plan. They will not have to pay probate fees or taxes on the value of the plan. Any profits earned after the death of the original TFSA holder are still tax-free.

If you don’t have a spouse or partner, you should designate a Beneficiary.

Designating a TFSA Beneficiary ensures that probate fees and taxes are not payable on the value of the TFSA.

However, the Beneficiary of a TFSA can’t keep the plan. They have to take the investments out of the TFSA. Once out, they become regular non-registered investments and any gains or income the investments earn from then on are taxable.

The Beneficiary will also have to pay tax on any income, gains or dividends earned by the investments in the TFSA from the day the person died until the day they get them. So say it takes 6 months for the Beneficiary to actually get a TFSA full of stocks. They will owe capital gains tax and dividend tax on any gains and distributions the stocks make between the day of death and the day 6 months later when they get the stocks.

You can see that it’s good to be a Beneficiary of a TFSA, but it’s even better to be the Successor Holder. That’s why you should designate your spouse or partner the successor if possible.

There may be cases when you don’t want the money going to your spouse or partner. That’s different. In that case, designate a Beneficiary or describe what should be done in your will.

What about Non-Registered Investment Accounts?

There is no form to designate a beneficiary for a non-registered investment account. You can state what should be done with your account in your will. Your estate will have to pay taxes and probate fees on the value of the account.

Don’t Put This Stuff Off! Designate Your Beneficiary Now

According to the RBC DI website, a Power of Attorney does *NOT* have the right to designate a beneficiary. That should ring some warning bells. Don’t put off designating your beneficiaries. You don’t want to be disabled and unable to make your wishes known realizing that you’ve just ensured your heirs will have to hand a large chunk of money over to the government for no good reason. Do it now. Get it done.

Update Your Beneficiary When Your Life Changes

If you marry, divorce, change common law partners or are widowed, please remember to update your beneficiary designations. Lawyers see many nasty cases where the beneficiary was not updated with unexpected, sometimes even tragic, results. It usually takes less than an hour to get this paper work done. Find the time.

Imagine paying even $100 more tax than you have to. Isn’t it worth filling in this form for $100?

What If My Beneficiary Dies First? Using Contingent Beneficiaries

In general, if your beneficiary dies before you die, you should just update your beneficiary form with your new choice. However, because sometimes people forget or life happens, in some cases you can file a form with both your Beneficiary and the name of your Contingent Beneficiary. The account would go to the Beneficiary normally, but if the Beneficiary has died before you die, then it will go straight to the Contingent Beneficiary.

As a Distinct Society, Quebec is Always a Little Different

The rules for Beneficiaries and Successor Holders are a little different in Quebec. I’d suggest that you seek advice from your financial institution if you live in Quebec. I believe that you can only designate your beneficiary and successor in your will not by a form. However, I’m not a tax or financial expert so I recommend you speak to someone who is to find out the correct, current information.

To Find the Beneficiary and Successor Forms for RBC Direct Investing Brokerage Accounts

Sign in to your RBC Direct Investing account/s.
Click on the My Home tab.
Click on the Forms link in the long list across the top of the screen under My Home.
Way down in the grey Forms box, click on the link called: Beneficiary Designation
A long list of links to forms will be displayed.
The next step depends on the types of accounts you have
- For RRSP, RRIF, LIF, PRIF, LIRA, LRIF, RLIF and RLSP accounts,
  If you want to designate one person as your Beneficiary, click on the link called: Designation of Beneficiary.
  If you want to designate more than one person, click on the link called: Designation of Multiple Beneficiaries
- For TFSA accounts,
  if you want to designate a regular beneficiary, click on the link: Tax-Free Savings Account Beneficiary Designation
  If you want to designate a charitable corporation as the beneficiary, click on the link: TFSA Beneficiary Designation (for Charitable Corporations)
(In all cases you will have to save the blank form to your computer or print it immediately.
To end your online session, click on the Sign Out button.
For added security, clear your browser’s cache and close your browser session.
Open the form/s.
Print the form/s.
Complete the form/s.
Generally you will need to report the name and address of the person who will be the Beneficiary or the Successor, and if you have it you can include their Social Insurance Number. Adding the SIN reduces the risk of a mistake being made if many people share the same name. (E.g. if your Beneficiary is John Smith or Mohammed Masoud.)
If necessary, have your signature witnessed by an agent at the appropriate bank or financial institution. The RBC DI RRSP form does not require you to get an agent’s signature. They sign it when they receive it.
Mail the completed form to RBC Direct Investing. They need an original with your signature for legal reasons.

To Find the Beneficiary and Successor Forms for BMO InvestorLine Brokerage Accounts

Sign in to your InvestorLine account/s.
Click on the Account Services tab.
Click on the Forms link.
Click on the tab for the first type of account you have. For example, click on
- RSPs/RIFs
- TFSAs
For a RSP or RIF, click on the link called: Beneficiary Designation and Successor Annuitant Form (RSP/RIF)
For TFSAs, click on the link called: Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) Successor Account Holder Appointment and/or Beneficiary Designation Form
When you’ve printed your forms, click on the Sign Out button.
For increased security clear your browser cache and close your browser session.
Open the form/s.
Print the form/s.
Complete the form/s.
You’ll need the name and address of the person who will be the Beneficiary or the Successor. If you include their Social Insurance Number you will reduce the risk of a mistake if many people share the same name. (E.g. if your Beneficiary is Cathy Smith or Fatima Khan.)
Mail the completed form/s to BMO InvestorLine. They need an original with your signature for legal reasons.

To Find the Beneficiary and Successor Forms for CIBC Investor’s Edge Brokerage Accounts

Sign on to your Investor’s Edge account/s.
From the long list on the left side of the screen, click on the link called: Forms.
Click on the tab: Registered Accounts.
- For an RSP, click on the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) PDF link. Section 8 of the form is the Designation of the Beneficiary.
- For a TFSA, click on the Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA) PDF link. Section 6 of the form is the Designation of Successor Holder or other Beneficiary.
- For a RIF, click on the Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) PDF link. Section 8 of the form is the Designation of the Beneficiary.
- For a LIRA, click on the Locked-In Retirement Account (LIRA) PDF link. Section 8 of the form is the Designation of the Beneficiary.
- For a LIF, click on the LIF PDF link. [Don’t ask me why they didn’t type out Life Income Fund!] Section 8 of the form is the Designation of the Beneficiary.
- There are quite a few themes are variations on the LIF. If applicable, click on the form for the kind you have. Chances are good it will be Section 8, but you can scroll through the form to find the correct section if it’s not.
Click on the Sign Off button.
For added security clear your browser cache and close your browser session.
Print the required form.
Complete and sign the form.
Usually you will list the name and address of the Beneficiary or Successor. Including their Social Insurance Number will reduce the risk of a mistake if many people share the same name. (E.g. if your Beneficiary is Choudhary Singh.)
Mail it to CIBC Investor’s Edge. Legally, they will need your original signature.

Give It Time Then Check Your Beneficiary and Successor Designations Are Correct

It’s a good idea to keep an eye on your statements to check whether the correct Beneficiary or Successor gets named. Papers get lost. Until you see it’s registered properly, keep an eye on this.