Do bank accounts have to go through probate?

Published 17 July 2024
by Co-op team

When someone dies, banks need to be told about the death as soon as possible. Notifying banks about a death is one of the responsibilities of an executor or administrator of an estate.

After they’re told about a death, banks usually freeze any accounts so no one can access the money in them. Banks do this to make sure they release the money in the account to the right person.

The money isn’t usually released until the executor or administrator have documents called:

a grant of probate (if there was a will), or
letters of administration (if there wasn’t a will)

However, you don't always need probate to access money in a bank account.

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When you might not need probate for bank accounts

Banks can release money from a bank account without probate:

if it’s a joint account
if there is not much money in the account
to pay for funeral costs or inheritance tax bills

In most other situations, you will need a grant of probate or letters of administration to release money from bank accounts.

Probate for joint bank accounts

Probate is not needed to deal with joint bank accounts. Where a bank account was jointly held with a spouse or partner, the surviving person will become the sole owner of the account.

For the account to be transferred into their name, they will need to provide the bank with the death certificate.

Usually, the surviving bank account holder will need to make an appointment with a local branch of the bank. During this appointment, they’ll fill out some forms. The bank account will then be transferred to the surviving joint owner.

Bank accounts with a low balance

If the person who died had a bank account without much money in it, you might be able to release the money without going through probate.

Banks set their own limits for releasing money without probate. For example, one bank might release the funds to you if the account had under £50,000, while another will release the money if there was less than £5000. Find out more about bank limits for probate.

Sometimes, a bank might still ask for a grant of probate when the amount in the account is under their limit.

You should talk to the bank to find out if they can release the money without probate. If they can, they will usually need to see the original death certificate, some ID, and the will (if you have one) before releasing the money.

Paying for funeral costs and inheritance tax

The executor or administrator can release money from a bank account to pay for funeral costs and inheritance tax while waiting for a grant of probate.

You can do this by showing the bank the funeral invoice or letters from HMRC.