10.2.2 Request of Heirs, Guardians and Curators to Banks to Disclose Transactions and Account Balances of their Deceased or Incompetent Persons and the Like
10.2.2.1 Inquiring About and Operation of a Deceased’s Account
- If any person requests a bank to disclose transactions, accounts’ balances or banking relationships of his/her legator, the bank must respond to the request after verifying the existence of the necessary documents, which empower him/her to act so, including, as a minimum, the death certificate and determination of heirs deed (or an original copy thereof) that defines the names of heirs, including the person requesting the disclosure. If the requesting person is a legal agent of all the heirs or of one of them, he should produce the original power of attorney of his heirs or any of them that gives him the right to inquire about the legator's balances. The inquirer should be provided with the answer in a written form. The statement provided should be accurate and should include all banking relationships pertaining to the deceased. The Bank should keep a copy of the statement after being signed by the recipient.
- To operate the accounts of a deceased after freezing balances and stopping dealings because of death, the bank must verify the persons who have the right to the account of the deceased. Disbursement should be made based on legal practices and documents, including, as a minimum, the provision of the determination of heirs deed (or an original copy thereof) and the presence of heirs or their representatives collectively or individually, provided that such representatives have a power of attorney thereon. In addition, the decision of disbursement or distribution made by mutual agreement or by the competent court should be presented to the bank. If it is impossible to provide any of the required documents in connection with the deceased expatriate, the bank, after obtaining an attested death certificate, should issue a banking check with the amount of the balance in the name of the deceased’s country’s embassy to hand it to his/her heirs. The bank must comply with the requirements and procedures for heirs’ accounts set forth in Rule (200.1.1).
- Providing heirs or their representative with the deceased’s account statements or account activity for the period preceding the date of death is prohibited unless SAMA informs the bank of the issuance of a judicial order requiring so.
10.2.2.2 Inquiring About Incompetent Persons’ Accounts
If any person contacts a bank to inquire about or require disclosing of transactions, accounts’ balances or banking relationships of an incompetent person, the bank must respond to the request after verifying the existence of the necessary empowering documents, including, as a minimum, a legal document that proves the person’s guardianship or custody over the incompetent person. The inquirer should be provided with the answer in a written form. The statement provided should be accurate and should include all banking relationships pertaining to the incompetent person. The bank should keep a copy of the statement after being signed by the recipient. Providing curators or guardians with the incompetent person’s account statements or account activity information for the period preceding the issuance of the custody or guardianship deed is prohibited. For account operation, the provisions of the related rules should be applied on a case-by-case basis (interdicted, disabled, etc.).