When is probate needed and is there a threshold in the UK?

Full answer

Probate (a grant of representation) is the legal authority to deal with someone's estate. There is no statutory monetary threshold; instead each asset holder decides whether it will release funds or transfer assets without seeing a grant. This is why the practical trigger varies from estate to estate. Mechanism: after a death, the executor (or administrator if there is no will) approaches each institution. Banks and building societies set their own probate limits and will release smaller balances on sight of a death certificate and indemnity; larger balances require the grant. Sole-name property is the clearest case - the Land Registry will not transfer or allow a sale of a solely owned home without probate. Assets held as joint tenants (such as a jointly owned house or joint bank account) usually pass automatically to the survivor and fall outside probate, which is why some estates need no grant at all. Who it affects: executors and administrators winding up an estate, and beneficiaries waiting on distribution. Probate is a separate question from Inheritance Tax: an estate can be below the IHT nil-rate band (GBP 325,000 for 2026/27, plus up to GBP 175,000 residence nil-rate band) yet still need probate because it includes sole-name property, and vice versa. 2026/27 detail: the IHT account and any tax due generally must be addressed before the grant is issued where tax is payable. Probate application fees and the bank-by-bank release limits are not fixed figures in this guide - check the current fee on gov.uk and ask each institution for its threshold. To gauge whether IHT may also be in point, use an inheritance tax calculator alongside checking the probate requirement.

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