Do you need probate?

What is probate, in one paragraph?

“Probate” is the legal authority to deal with someone's estate after they die. In England and Wales you apply for a grant of probate (if there is a will naming you as executor) or letters of administration (if there isn't). In Northern Ireland the process runs through the Probate Office in Belfast, with its own forms and fees. The grant is the document banks, the Land Registry and other institutions ask to see before they will release or transfer significant assets. The question this page answers is whether anyone will actually ask you for it.

When you usually do need probate

You will almost certainly need a grant if any of these apply:

• Property or land in the sole name of the person who died. A house, flat or land owned outright, or their share as tenants in common, can't be sold or transferred without a grant.
• A bank or building society account over that institution's limit. Every institution sets its own limit. Most high-street banks and building societies currently release up to £50,000 without a grant; some app-based banks and NS&I stop at £5,000. Below the limit they will usually release the money against a death certificate and a signed declaration; above it, they ask for the grant. Ask the bereavement team - limits change without notice.
• Stocks, shares or investment accounts of meaningful value held in the sole name of the person who died.
• Life insurance or pension lump sums paid to the estate rather than to a named beneficiary or under a trust - those form part of the estate and can tip it over a limit.

Inheritance tax is a separate question. Owing tax doesn't create the need for a grant, and needing a grant doesn't mean tax is due. An estate can owe inheritance tax with no probate needed at all - jointly owned assets still count towards the tax - and most estates that do need a grant owe no tax. The two only meet where both apply: if a grant is needed and there is tax to pay, HMRC usually needs a payment towards it before the grant can issue.

When you usually don't need probate

• Everything was jointly owned. Assets held as joint tenants - the family home, joint bank accounts - pass automatically to the surviving owner by survivorship. Many married couples' estates need no probate at all on the first death.
• The accounts are small. If the largest sole-name holding is under that institution's limit, the bank will typically close the account against a death certificate.
• Everything had a named beneficiary. Pensions and life policies written in trust, or with nominated beneficiaries, pay out directly, outside the estate.
• The estate is only cash and personal belongings of modest value.

If you are unsure, the practical test is simple: ask each institution what they require. Their bereavement teams deal with this daily and will tell you whether they need a grant for the amount held. HeirWell's task manager does this legwork for you - each institution's bereavement contacts and typical requirements, in one place.

Does having a will change whether you need probate?

No - this is the most common misconception we see. A will decides who inherits and who administers; it doesn't decide whether a grant is needed. That depends entirely on the assets. Plenty of estates with wills need no probate (everything joint), and plenty of estates without a will need full letters of administration.

Is it different in Northern Ireland?

The logic is the same - it is the assets that decide - but the process, forms and fees differ. nidirect's own guidance says a grant is almost always needed where there is around £20,000 in any one account, stocks or shares, certain insurance policies, or property or land in the sole name of the person who died. Applications are processed by the Probate Office at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast (they can also be lodged at the District Probate Registry in Londonderry). Northern Ireland has no Tell Us Once service, so each organisation must be told separately. The court fee is also different: there is no fee where the estate is £10,000 or less; above that the fee is £326, plus an £81 personal application fee if you apply without a solicitor (fees from 1 April 2026).

What happens if you skip probate when it was needed?

Nothing dramatic happens immediately - but the estate jams. The bank won't release the money, the house can't be sold, and you can't legally distribute to beneficiaries. Worse, if you distribute what you can access and a grant later proves necessary (or debts surface), you can be personally liable as executor. If in doubt, establish the position before distributing anything.