Last summer, a family who had lost a loved one approached LHV Bank to request access to the deceased's bank account statements. They brought with them a recently issued certificate of succession from a notary, assuming it would be a routine procedure.

However, they soon discovered that LHV refused to provide such statements. The bank justified its decision by claiming the information was protected under banking secrecy laws and that the heirs were considered third parties.

"When I heard that, I initially thought maybe someone new was working at the branch and simply didn't understand how things worked. I called the bank's information line and got confirmation that, indeed, they were refusing. The reasoning was the same," said Paula (name known to the editorial office), a business owner with a legal background who was helping the heirs handle the process.

But the heirs urgently needed the statements. During the inventory of the deceased's estate, several loan obligations came to light and the family wanted to determine whether the claims were valid, whether the amounts had actually been transferred to the account and whether there had been any repayments that would reduce the outstanding debt.

Paula decided to look into the matter on the bank's website. She typed "inheritance" into LHV's frequently asked questions section, but the only result was an entry on inheriting pension fund units.

She then sent a message to LHV's general email address describing the situation and asked: if the bank does not recognize a notarized certificate of succession, then what document does grant access to a deceased person's bank account information or online banking? She also requested a reference to the legal basis the bank was relying on.

The following day, a bank representative stated that Paragraph 88 of the Credit Institutions Act applies to bank account statements, as it concerns banking secrecy. This means account statements are classified and the bank is prohibited from disclosing them to third parties, except in cases explicitly provided for by law.

Alisa Kuznetsov, head of LHV's client service offices, noted that heirs are entitled to receive account statements to the extent justified in their application. However, a certificate of succession does not grant access to the deceased's bank account, only to their assets and liabilities.

"If the deceased had obligations to LHV Bank, the loan is transferred into the heirs' name. For other debts, heirs have the option to settle them immediately using the account's funds. LHV accepts the certificate of succession and uses it to grant heirs access to the estate. However, it is not a document that provides access to confidential data," Kuznetsov explained.

At that point, less than a month had passed since the person's death, yet LHV had already issued the heirs a mortgage payment demand — and had also included a due date for the following month's installment.

FSA recommends turning to court

Paula then turned to the Financial Supervision Authority. She received a response stating that the authority could not assist in such matters, as it was a private legal dispute falling outside their jurisdiction.

However, the FSA did point out that under the Credit Institutions Act, banks are required to treat information obtained in the course of their activities as confidential. Still, they must disclose banking secrecy to an heir or their authorized representative upon request.

"We note that the extent to which a certificate of succession grants access to the deceased's bank account information and to the account itself is a matter of inheritance law and depends on the interpretation of legal norms under inheritance law," the authority said, recommending that Paula seek advice from a notary or law office.

They also noted that going to court was an option. But the heirs did not have the time for what could potentially become a lengthy legal battle.

After repeated phone calls and written inquiries, LHV eventually suggested that the heirs submit a digitally signed application specifying the time period for which they were requesting information. The heirs drafted such a statement and sent it to the bank. Even that did not yield results: the bank replied that it still could not provide a full account statement due to banking secrecy.

"Under the law, we can only provide relevant information and only for a legitimate reason," the bank stated.

At that point, Paula asked a friend — an attorney at law — for help, as obtaining the necessary statements on their own seemed hopeless. The attorney submitted a formal inquiry to the bank and that finally led to a breakthrough: the heirs received the statements they had requested — documents the bank had previously deemed impossible to release due to banking secrecy. From the initial request to receiving the statements, more than a month had passed. For the heirs, already reeling from the loss of a loved one, it had taken a considerable amount of time and effort to reach this outcome.

Bank reluctant to add information to website

At that point, the dispute could have ended. But Paula couldn't shake the thought that this particular case was far from unique — and that when heirs lack the resources or knowledge to defend their rights, they could suffer real financial harm. She was convinced that LHV was misapplying the Credit Institutions Act when it came to banking secrecy and that the bank's practices needed to change.

Paula submitted a formal request to LHV, asking the bank to add clear, transparent and unambiguous information about inheritance matters to the relevant section of the frequently asked questions on its website. That letter went unanswered.

In October, Paula contacted the bank again, requesting a transcript of all previous correspondence and reiterating her call for LHV to provide heirs with the necessary information online — to spare others from facing similarly drawn-out processes in the future. This time, a lengthy back-and-forth began with an LHV representative who once again emphasized that the law broadly protects the interests of bank clients and that account statements are also covered under banking secrecy.

"Disclosure of banking secrecy is only permitted in cases stipulated by law. One such case may be a written request by an heir, but even then, the request must be related to the estate and disclosure is limited only to the part relevant to the estate. Based on this, the release of a full account statement may be excluded," the LHV representative wrote in October.

But then, a shift occurred in the bank's position. On November 12, Paula received a new message from the same bank employee.

"We must admit that we were overly cautious in our initial response. Our goal is to protect the interests of all parties, but we now understand that we approached this situation with excessive caution. We sincerely hope your inquiry was theoretical, but if you, as an heir, do in fact need a bank account statement for the deceased, we can provide it in full for the requested period, based on the certificate of succession," the message stated.

Paula asked for clarification on what had prompted the change in stance. She was told that LHV's position on banking secrecy had not changed.

"However, theoretically, a bank account statement may be connected to the estate, and in such a case, providing the statement may be possible," the LHV representative wrote.

Past court decision sides with heirs

With a background in law, Paula discussed the entire ordeal with other legally knowledgeable acquaintances and was surprised to discover that a similar dispute had previously reached the courts, where the heir seeking account information from a bank had won.

The case dated back to 2017 in Harju County Court where the sole heir of their late mother and grandfather requested account statements from Swedbank dating back to 2011. The bank refused, citing banking secrecy as its reason.

The court ruled in favor of the heir, stating that inheritance involves statutory succession. According to the decision, the Law of Succession Act provides that once an estate is accepted, all the rights and obligations of the deceased are transferred to the heir.

"In essence, this means the heir steps into the shoes of the deceased in their relationship with the credit institution and thereby acquires all of the deceased's rights. The court holds that this legal succession grants the heir the right to obtain full information about all transactions and actions carried out by the deceased — including information from credit institutions, such as contracts concluded with the deceased and transactions made via the bank account," the court found.

Additionally, the court noted that both deceased individuals had the right to access information about their bank accounts at any time, without needing to provide justification — and that the same right applies to the heir from the moment the estate is opened.

Paula shared this important discovery with the LHV representative she had last been in contact with, emphasizing that clear and accessible guidelines on inheritance and bank accounts must be published on LHV's website — especially since even within the bank, the rules did not seem consistently understood.

In response, LHV confirmed that it had indeed begun the process of adding frequently asked questions related to inheritance to its website. The bank promised that it would clearly address matters concerning account statements and banking secrecy.

"We are doing everything we can to make this information available as soon as possible," the LHV representative assured.

LHV admits its approach too cautious

Though it seemed the dispute was finally nearing a resolution, that wasn't the case: by January of this year, the requested information still hadn't appeared on LHV's website. Paula sent three more follow-up inquiries asking for an update and, on January 20, finally received a reply saying that the LHV representative had submitted proposals for internal approval and that, hopefully, the desired information would be added to the website soon.

As of February 25, however, the inheritance information was still missing. Paula emailed the bank again, asking what was causing the delay. She was told that the representative could not promise a specific deadline and had done everything within their power.

By that time, Paula was thoroughly fed up with playing ping-pong with LHV. But after fighting so hard for so long, she wasn't ready to give up. In early March, she wrote directly to LHV CEO Madis Toomsalu, detailing her interactions with the bank and including the court ruling involving Swedbank in a similar case.

She received a response from Kristel Paet, LHV's head of client services, who acknowledged that the bank's previous approach may have hindered heirs from accessing essential information about the deceased's obligations and account activity.

"As a result, we have conducted a thorough review of the legal framework and court practice and concluded that our earlier approach was more protective than it necessarily needed to be," Paet said, adding that the inheritance section on the website would be updated as Paula had requested.

Having already experienced how LHV's promises didn't always lead to action, Paula replied that she would like to know the exact date the information would go live. The bank responded that, in fact, the Credit Institutions Act does not require them to post frequently asked questions on their website and, therefore, they are not obligated to set specific deadlines for publishing such information. Nevertheless, LHV confirmed that if all went according to plan, the necessary details would be added to the site during March.

LHV customer had a similar problem back in 2018

In the meantime, Paula had uncovered yet another piece of information: back in 2018, Kärt Pormeister, then a junior researcher in law at the University of Tartu, had written an opinion piece in Eesti Päevaleht titled "Heirs Being Made Fools Of — the Bank Buries the Account Holder's History Along With the Deceased." In the article, Pormeister recounted her own experience with LHV Bank, where she too, as an heir, had requested the deceased account holder's statements for the previous three years — and, just like the family Paula was helping six years later, went through a similarly exhausting ordeal before finally succeeding.

Paula informed LHV of the article, pointing out that if the issue was raised publicly in 2018 and nothing had changed by March 2025, it gave the impression that LHV simply didn't care to protect its clients' interests or to handle matters transparently.

"I've spoken with around 15 to 20 of your bank's employees over the course of more than six months. In other words, I've spent resources resolving an issue that should have required a single visit to a branch or one email to your general inbox — accompanied by a certificate of succession," Paula wrote in her letter to the CEO.

"I personally have a lot of questions at this point. Including whether there needs to be a broader investigation into what actually happens — or has happened — with the accounts of deceased individuals after their death," she added.

In mid-March, LHV's legal department reached out to Paula, thanking her for raising the issue and for highlighting the problems. They also informed her that the inheritance section was now available in the bank's frequently asked questions on its website.

LHV changes its approach to banking secrets

ERR asked LHV whether it had been standard practice to deny heirs access to deceased individuals' bank account statements and why it took so long to add inheritance-related information to the bank's website.

Annika Goroško, head of retail banking at LHV, said the bank could not comment on specific cases or related correspondence. However, she acknowledged that access to inheritance-related information is important and that LHV provides such information directly to heirs who contact the bank.

"Inheritance cases are nuanced and every story is unique and important. In general, inheritance matters at LHV are resolved smoothly and in cooperation with clients," Goroško said.

She explained that heirs are legally entitled to receive information about the deceased's financial obligations and bank account transactions, in line with the Credit Institutions Act, which requires a bank to disclose account information to an heir or their authorized representative upon submission of a valid document, such as a certificate of succession.

"Our earlier approach was based on a cautious interpretation of the law, with the primary goal of protecting our client's — i.e., the deceased person's — banking secrecy. We felt it was important to uphold the individual's privacy even after death. However, over time, both legal practice and interpretation have become clearer and there is now a consensus that heirs have a definite and lawful right to access account information. We've come to understand that our previous stance was more protective than it necessarily had to be," Goroško said.

She noted that the bank has since made several changes, including updating its internal procedures to ensure heirs have clearer and more efficient access to account statements in line with legal requirements.

"We've added a new inheritance section to LHV's FAQ page. Previously, inheritance topics were not listed separately because cases and questions varied so widely and we handled them on a case-by-case basis. But in the interest of clarity and accessibility, the information is now easy to find on the website," Goroško confirmed.

Paula is satisfied that after eight months of sustained pressure, the necessary information has finally made it onto LHV's website. She hopes the process will now be clearer and more transparent for other heirs.

"Hopefully this hobby project has now found its final resolution," she said.

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