Standard Bank – The bank where you need exceptional patience

Background: In June 2020, my dad passed away. He was 93 years of age. He was in the frail care section of an old age home. He had no movable or immovable assets, only some cash in the bank. He was a Standard Bank client his whole life and entrusted Standard Bank with his late estate.

Fast forward: It is 4 years later. The late estate is not yet finalised. Numerous calls, emails and even an email to the CEO of Standard Bank on 10 September 2023 did not make any difference. A am aware of other, more intricate late estates that were finalised within 18 months.

In the meantime, Standard Bank is charging bank costs as well as executor's fees against the late estate. They even requested consent (at a cost against the estate) to make use of an outside runner to courier documents between the bank and the Master of the High Court.

If you want your late estate to drag on for years, Standard Bank is the way to go.