Help & Support


Opening an account for a deceased estate

To open an account for a deceased estate, we’ll need to know more about the will or probate and executors of the estate.

Open an account

Documents required

  • Will or probate.

If the executors are organisations we’ll need foundation evidence relating to each of them to find out if the people involved to meet our regulatory requirements. More about non-personal organisations

ID and proof of address

We’ll need ID for the executors of the estate. They can prove their ID using one of three ID combinations.

Each executor’s ID needs to be verified. Ways to verify ID include:

  • face-to-face in a BNZ branch
  • certified in writing by an approved trusted referee
  • online through RealMe or with photos of your ID.

We may also need information about any named beneficiaries who are noted in a will with 25% or more of the distribution or are likely to receive 25% or more of the distribution.

Countries of tax residence

If you, the estate, or any key people are tax residents in another country or countries, we’ll need tax numbers or an equivalent for those countries.

Find out more about confirming your tax residency.

For more information, please talk to your tax adviser or visit the Inland Revenue website.

Adding, changing, or removing an authorised person

We’ll need to collect and verify identification information for any new authorised person, and they may also need to fill out additional forms.

Call us on 0800 275 269 to make changes to your account.