The certificate will usually sent 4 days after you apply although if you need it sooner, you can pay £35 for a next-day priority service. You may well need more than one copy to send to the likes of banks and insurers. You will also need a death certificate which costs £11 in England and Wales, £8 in Northern Ireland and £10 in Scotland. There is a useful tool on the gov.uk website that tells you where to register a death and what documents you need. This can be arranged at any registrar’s office, although it will be faster if you do it in the local authority where the person died. Registering the deathĪ relative or someone present at the time the person died must register the death within five days, or eight in Scotland. There are a number of steps to follow before you get to applying for probate. In some cases, the fee is paid out of the deceased’s estate.Įxtra copies of the grant of probate cost £1.50 each, but are useful to have as you can send them simultaneously to the various organisations – such as banks, credit card firms, insurers and pension providers – that hold the deceased’s money, have lent money to them, or have an account with them such as a utility deal.
If the net value of the deceased’s estate – the amount after any debts and reliefs are applied – is more than £5,000 (most likely if there is property involved), then there will be a £273 fee. Read more about later life planning covering wills, inheritance tax, funeral plans and much more in our dedicated section. The estate is insolvent – there is not enough money to pay any debts, taxes and expenses.Any property is owned as beneficial joint tenants, as it will then automatically become wholly owned by the other owner.The estate is just made up of cash and personal possessions such as a car and furniture.The amount of money in bank accounts is small, such as below £50,000.You were married or in a civil partnership as jointly owned assets automatically pass to you.When you might not need probateĪs mentioned above, there are instances when probate is not required. For example, a grown-up child whose father has passed away but is separated. This means money can usually be made available faster, which is helpful if it is needed to cover funeral costs.īeneficiaries can be executors and, of course, it is not just spouses who are able to apply for probate.
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However, if their spouse had savings or property in their own name, or the couple owned their home as tenants in common, they would need probate to gain full ownership of those assets.īanks have varying rules but if the sum in the deceased’s account is below £50,000, some will not require probate once you have informed them of the death and shown a certified certificate. Do I need probate?Ī beneficiary may not need an application to be made for probate if they were married or in a civil partnership with the deceased person, because jointly owned assets, such as a home or joint bank accounts, will automatically pass to them.
Both documents give a named person legal authority to act as administrator for the estate of the person who died.Īlthough this is not the same as being an executor as the wishes of the deceased aren’t officially known, the administrator will be able to close accounts and sell property, and also distribute assets in line with the rules of intestacy. If there is no will, they will instead need “letters of administration”, known as a “bond of caution” in Scotland. If the deceased person left a will, the executors need to apply for a grant of probate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or a confirmation in Scotland.
The person who has the grant of probate is known as the personal representative. Probate is a legal document that provides executors with access to a deceased person’s assets and the right to distribute them – known as estate administration.Īn “estate” is a catch-all term for any property they owned as well as money and possessions. Can I apply for probate without a solicitor?įind out more in out guide on lasting power of attorneys and the importance of them.To gain access to the bank accounts of someone who has died and sort out their property and possessions, the executors named in the will to carry out the deceased’s wishes need legal control of their assets – something that is known as probate.Ībout 250,000 probate applications are made each year in England and Wales, according to government figures. On top of that, sorting out their finances can be a stressful and long-winded process. Dealing with the death of a loved one is difficult enough.
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