November 6, 2026 at 4:35 am

Widow Was Told She Couldn’t Close Her Late Husband’s Bank Account, So She Withdrew Nearly Everything And Left Exactly One Cent Behind

by Chris Allen

woman getting money at a bank

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Bank rules can become ridiculous when nobody is allowed to use common sense.

A widow brought every document needed to close her late husband’s account.

The bank refused her request but still allowed withdrawals.

Frankie found a one-cent solution.

Let’s get into all the details below.

Won’t let me close a bank account? No problem.

“Not me, but my spouse’s grandmother “Frankie”

After my spouse’s grandfather “Bill” passed away suddenly of a heart attack, my spouse’s grandmother “Frankie” was understandably devastated, but went about closing his estate with a stiff upper lip.

Until she got to one bank account that was only in Bill’s name, not a joint account with both of them.

This was frustrating…

Despite having the death certificate, will, and other documentation required, the bank absolutely would not let Frankie close Bill’s account. But for whatever reason, they would allow her to withdraw money.

Being the type to not suffer fools, Frankie withdrew all but $0.01 from the account. The next day, she got a call from the bank’s branch manager explaining there were minimum balance requirements, and the bank account would be subject to a service fee if it didn’t have a certain amount of money in it at the end of each month.

“No problem,” Frankie tells the manager, “Just let me close the account.”

“We can’t let you close an account in someone else’s name,” the manager says.

Okay, whatever…

At this point, Frankie realizes that it doesn’t affect her if a bank account in someone else’s name goes negative because of service fees.

The manager won’t budge and neither will she, so the next month, the account goes negative after the bank assesses a $2 service fee.

That was 17 years ago. The bank still calls her from time to time to ask her to bring the account back into the black, but when she asks about closing the account and they tell her only Bill can close it, she promptly hangs up on them and goes back to playing bridge with her friends.”

Reddit users shared their thoughts.

This person weighed in.

Screenshot 2025 11 14 at 8.52.55 AM Widow Was Told She Couldn’t Close Her Late Husband’s Bank Account, So She Withdrew Nearly Everything And Left Exactly One Cent Behind

Another individual shared a story.

Screenshot 2025 11 14 at 8.53.03 AM Widow Was Told She Couldn’t Close Her Late Husband’s Bank Account, So She Withdrew Nearly Everything And Left Exactly One Cent Behind

This Reddit user spoke up.

Screenshot 2025 11 14 at 8.53.29 AM Widow Was Told She Couldn’t Close Her Late Husband’s Bank Account, So She Withdrew Nearly Everything And Left Exactly One Cent Behind

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a community who realizes their mistake after restricting parking to residents only gets guests and delivery drivers towed.

And this individual shared their thoughts.

Screenshot 2025 11 14 at 8.54.20 AM Widow Was Told She Couldn’t Close Her Late Husband’s Bank Account, So She Withdrew Nearly Everything And Left Exactly One Cent Behind

Frankie withdrew everything except one cent after the bank refused to close her late husband’s account.

Seventeen years later, its own fees have left the account negative while employees still demand payment.

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