Probate isn’t automatically required for every estate. Whether it’s needed comes down to two things: how the assets were owned, and whether each individual bank or institution is willing to release funds without seeing a formal grant.
Quick Overview:
- Joint tenancy: Property or accounts held this way pass automatically to the survivor, no grant needed
- Bank thresholds: Most major banks release funds up to £25,000 to £50,000 without probate
- Inheritance tax: Can still be owed even where no grant is required
- Tenants in common: Doesn’t qualify for automatic transfer, probate is usually still needed
When Probate Isn’t Needed? The Two Main Reasons
There are really only two routes to avoiding probate. The first is automatic: certain assets pass directly to another person by law, regardless of what a will says, so there’s simply nothing for a grant to authorise. The second is discretionary: even where an asset technically forms part of the estate, the institution holding it, a bank, a building society, a share registrar, may agree to release it without one, provided the value sits under their own internal limit.
Jointly Owned Assets that Bypass Probate Automatically
Several types of asset transfer without any grant being needed at all:
- Property held as joint tenants, which passes to the surviving owner through the right of survivorship
- Joint bank or building society accounts, which typically pass to the surviving account holder in the same way
- Life insurance policies written in trust, where proceeds go directly to the named trust beneficiaries rather than the estate
- Pensions with a nominated beneficiary, where the provider pays out directly under their own scheme rules
Typical Institution Thresholds for Releasing Funds Without a Grant
Figures vary by institution, but here’s a general sense of where they currently sit. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Santander, and Nationwide typically release funds up to around £50,000 without requiring probate, while NatWest and TSB currently sit closer to £25,000. These aren’t fixed by law, each institution sets and can change its own limit at any time, so it’s always worth confirming the current figure directly with whichever bank actually holds the money rather than assuming a number that might already be out of date.
The Trap Most People Miss
Even where every bank involved agrees to release funds without seeing a grant, that doesn’t mean the estate is free of tax obligations. Inheritance tax is calculated on the full value of the estate, and HMRC’s reporting requirements exist independently of whatever individual banks decide about probate. It’s entirely possible for a straightforward small estate to avoid probate entirely while still needing an inheritance tax return submitted, so it’s worth checking this separately rather than assuming one automatically rules out the other.
Where This Doesn’t Apply?
The automatic transfer that applies to joint tenants doesn’t extend to property owned as tenants in common. Here, each owner holds a distinct, identifiable share of the property rather than the whole jointly, and that share passes under the will or the rules of intestacy rather than automatically to the surviving owner. In practice, this usually means a grant of representation is still required to deal with that share, even though the property itself was jointly owned in some sense.
Let’s Make it Easy to Understand
Someone passes away leaving a home owned jointly with their spouse as joint tenants, a joint current account, and a single savings account of £18,000 held solely in their own name. The property and the joint account both pass automatically to the surviving spouse without any grant being needed. The £18,000 savings account, however, sits with a bank whose own threshold for release without probate is £25,000, so in this case the bank agrees to release the funds directly on production of the death certificate, no grant required at all.
What to Do Either Way
- List every asset individually and check exactly how each one was owned
- Contact each institution directly and ask their current threshold, don’t assume based on general guidance
- Check whether an inheritance tax return is needed regardless of whether a grant is
- Keep clear records of what’s been released and by whom, even where no formal grant was involved
Rapid Fire
Yes, if every asset in the estate qualifies for automatic transfer or falls under each institution’s release threshold, there’s often no formal grant to apply for at all, though you’re still responsible for handling the estate correctly.
This is common, since each institution sets its own limit independently. You may end up needing a grant for one account while another is released informally, both outcomes can apply to the same estate at the same time.
Not directly. A will determines who inherits what, but whether a grant is actually required still comes down to how each asset was owned and each institution’s own threshold, regardless of whether a will exists.
