Your loved one’s will can clarify how they intend for their estate to be distributed; and who is to manage this.

• To locate the will. You can check with your loved one’s lawyer or financial advisor; or search the Wills Registry for any records.
• If no will is found, please proceed to apply for legal documents.

To formally close the bank account, you must apply for the relevant legal documents from the court.

This is a potentially complex process which can take 2 to 6 months depending on your legal advisor and the complexity of the case.

As such, you may wish to engage a lawyer to assist you with this step.

• With a will - Apply for a Grant of Probate
• Without a Will - Apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration

Where to apply for an estate based on its value

Estate networth	Place of application/ Assistance
Over S$5 Million	The Family Division of the High Court
Under S$5 Million	The Family Courts
Gross estate under S$50,000 (with or without Will)	Public Trustee's Office (They may assist with asset distribution without a Grant)

For a detailed guide on applying for these legal documents you may refer to the information provided by the Family Justice Court or to engage a lawyer to assist you.

When you’re ready, simply fill in this form so that we can call you back to assist you personally with account closure arrangements.

Finally, you (and all other Legal Representatives as stated in the Grant) must be present at the bank branch for the closure of account and release of funds. Do note that the duration for account closure varies according to the type and number of accounts held by your loved one.

Once the account is closed, all existing GIRO and payment arrangements will be terminated.

If you are the Personal Representative of the deceased estate:

• The Executor of the estate (as appointed in the Will); or
• The Administrator of the estate (as appointed in the Grant of Letters of Administration); or
• The Next-of-Kin (as per distribution rules set out in the Intestate Succession Act) and there is no Will,

The procedure to handle the deceased’s discounted Singtel shares (SDS) is dependent on your loved one date of death as well as the CPF nomination status.

You may refer to more information through the CPF website: Link

Yes, you can. From 29 May 2022, the death registration process will be made simpler, and digital death certificate will be issued in place of physical certificate. Once the medical practitioner certifies the death online, the death will automatically be registered in ICA’s system, and a digital death certificate will be immediately generated by the system. The medical practitioner or hospital staff will provide the next-of-kin with the required information, such as the digital death certificate number, to allow them to download the digital death certificate from My Legacy.

For more information, visit the ICA website Link

Once the bank is notified of the passing of the account holder, the joint account will be frozen*. Upon closure of the account by the surviving account holder, all existing GIRO arrangement will be terminated.

*Upon tagging of “Account Frozen”, all operations of the account will be restricted i.e. no withdrawal will be permitted from the account, including GIRO arrangements and other payment arrangements until further instruction is provided by the surviving account holder.

The company may update the signatories by submitting a Change of Mandate at https://www.dbs.com.sg/ibg-eforms/sg/changeofmandate.

More information on form-filling instructions and guides can be found on the DBS Corporate/SME Banking websites.

• For Corporate Banking:
  • Click on Corporate Self Service under Company profile, or
  • Click on Corporate Help & Support under Business profile
• For SME Banking:
  • Click on SME Self Service under Company profile, or
  • Click on SME Help & Support under Business profile