The short answer is: not always. Whether a grant is required depends on what the person who died owned and how those assets were held. This article explains when probate is needed and when it isn’t in clear, practical terms.
What Is a Grant of Probate?
A Grant of Probate is a legal document that gives the executor the authority to deal with a person’s estate after they die. This includes collecting assets, paying debts, and distributing money or property.
When Is a Grant of Probate Usually Needed?
You will usually need a grant if the person who has died:
- Owned property or land in their sole name or tenants in common with a spouse
- Had bank accounts, savings, shares, or investments in their sole name
- Held significant sums of money, and banks or institutions request probate before releasing funds
In practice, many organisations (such as banks or investment companies) will not release assets until they see a grant, especially where larger values are involved.
When Is a Grant of Probate Often Not Needed?
You may not need a grant if:
- All assets were owned jointly, and pass automatically to the surviving owner (for example, a joint bank account or jointly owned house as joint tenants)
- The estate contains only low value bank accounts (each bank has its own limit, often between £10,000 and £30,000)
- Money is held in a pension with a named beneficiary, life insurance written in trust or a trust set up during the person’s lifetime.
Property: A Common Source of Confusion
Property ownership is often the deciding factor:
- If property is held under sole ownership, a grant is usually required.
- If owned under joint tenants, the property passes automatically to the surviving owner (therefore no grant needed for the property).
- If owned under tenants in common (TIC), a grant is required for the deceased’s share.
If you are unsure how the property was owned, this can be checked through the Land Registry.
A Simple Way to Decide
Ask yourself these four questions:
1. Did the deceased person own property in their sole name?
2. Were there bank accounts or investments just in their name?
3. Are banks or organisations asking for probate?
4. Is the estate above the bank’s small‑estate limit?
If you answer yes to any of these, a grant is likely needed.
Joining the Dots with a Financial Adviser
The up-coming changes to pension rules bring the need for joined up planning into sharp focus. With un-used pension funds to form part of people’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes from 2027 it means that an already complicated probate process is about to be made impenetrable for the lay executor. Recent industry consultations are highlighting to the Government the impending difficulty of bringing estates together which include pensions and calculating the IHT due and on what part of the estate. The draft processes look horrible and are still being agreed as you read this. Meeting the 6-month deadline to pay the IHT from date of death would appear fanciful for those without the relevant financial and pension expertise along an understanding of the legal probate process. Heavy IHT late payment interest awaits the unprepared.
If you would like to arrange a relaxed chat about probate or any other estate or financial planning needs, please feel free to get in touch by calling 0117 3636 212 or emailing office@haroldstephens.co.uk.
