Coronavirus Bonus GST payment | Page 2 | General financial discussion | Discussion forum

Loonie said
In the event of a joint account holder, the deceased's name should have been removed from the account by now. Any monies owing to the deceased which are paid after the death belong in an estate account or can be processed by a lawyer through their trust account.
I agree that any such deposits should be automatically returned if the death has been reported. I saw this happen once with a government cheque. It was deposited and reversed on the same day wihtout any intervention from the joint holder.  

Some banks don't even remove joint account holders because their system is such that they don't permit that. Ideally, yes, I agree with you that joint holders should've created a new account in such instances, but presumably, due to lack of staff monitoring and customer service, banks simply let it continue.

Cheers,
Doug

Loonie said
My fairly recent experience with RBC was that they just wanted to know that no more cheques were expected or that we could process them through the lawyer. One has to ask them to delete the name and provide proof of death.

If I remember correctly, the government also ultimately wanted a certificate but I can't remember whether it was CRA, CPP or OAS. If you haven't submitted a death cert, perhaps that would help.  

Hi Loonie,
Thank you for your comments. Proof of death was provided to BMO, CRA and Service Canada immediately after death. The funeral home also sent a bunch of notices out as well. I am definitely set up as the executor on CRA's MyAccount. The branch (located in a smaller town and very friendly) has said it is OK to deposit cheques such as the CPP death benefit and also utility/insurance refund cheques into the account. I just was not expecting the GST credit. I tried calling CRA today (they were actually open on Good Friday!) but their lines were so busy that they said call back another time and disconnected me. I will keep trying.

MG, you're a better executor than I. I wouldn't waste time trying to phone CRA, just leave the money there and give it back if they ever come calling for it, that's what I'd do, plus maybe send them a note with the final return (if it's paper) or just to the tax centre (if you're efiling) telling them what's happening, what do you want me to do? On the other hand if I had a house full of kids during this lockdown maybe I'd be happy to be on hold with CRA for a blissful, quiet hour or two!

Rob said
Hi MG, I am in same situation in regards of COVID-19 GST/HST one time credit. My closed relative died in September of last year and received COVID-19 GST/HST one time credit on April 9, 2020. I had to repay GST and Trillium credit paid in error last December. Please let me know if you have any updates, did you call CRA, do you have to repay back COVID-19 GST/HST credit? I can’t reach CRA for now.  

Rob, if you had to repay GST last December and properly informed CRA about that death, it is not your problem after that and you don't have to reach CRA to repay back COVID-19 GST/HST credit. CRA probably later will ask you to return that COVID-19 GST/HST credit and you will happily do it without any troubles.

I'm in the same situation, advised CRA about death and did not received any payments from CRA after that.

Rob said
Hi MG, I am in same situation in regards of COVID-19 GST/HST one time credit. My closed relative died in September of last year and received COVID-19 GST/HST one time credit on April 9, 2020. I had to repay GST and Trillium credit paid in error last December. Please let me know if you have any updates, did you call CRA, do you have to repay back COVID-19 GST/HST credit? I can’t reach CRA for now.  

Hi Rob,
I did eventually reach CRA after 2 hours on hold. Spoke with 2 different agents. The first said the payment was an error and many people were phoning in with the same issue. I was then put through to an estate specialist who checked and said that the payment was actually an adjustment for July 2019. Really? No explanation was provided - it all seems odd since my mother already received a July 2019 payment. I went back into CRA's MyAccount via Represent a Client and saw mail titled "GST/HSTC" notice. The letter states that the amount received was a credit adjustment for July 2019 for the base year 2018. Not very helpful but at least it confirms what the agent told me. So I suggest you look for some type of mail from CRA if possible.

Good luck and my condolences on your loss.

MG, I used Represent A Client to get into the account as you suggested, checked mail and exact same thing, i.e. the unexpected payment is for July 2019 period - ?? I'm guessing they'll be asking for it back soon enough. Seems to be their mode right now, shovel dough out as fast as they can because people are clamouring for it and then worry about cleaning up any messes later.

FWIW, we mailed photocopied docs to CPP as per their request at about the same time (Apr 6) or a bit earlier, and they have not arrived either (just phoned to check today). The rep thought they should have arrived by now. We are sending a new set but wouldn't be surprised if the earlier ones show up first.
I imagine service disruptions due to Covid are the most likely problem.