Do I need probate?

Last reviewed 18 August 2026

It is a mercy of the law that a great many estates require no grant at all. Whether probate is needed turns not on a single figure but on what the estate contains and on the private rules of each institution that holds the deceased’s assets.

The three tests that decide it

First, how the assets were held. Anything owned as joint tenants — a joint bank account, or a home held jointly — usually passes automatically to the survivor, with no probate required. Second, whether there is sole-name property: a house in the deceased’s sole name (or a share held as tenants in common) will normally require a grant. Third, the balance held with each bank.

Bank thresholds

Each bank sets its own threshold below which it will release funds on sight of a death certificate and identification, without a grant. Most major banks sit at around £50,000, though several — Halifax and Lloyds among them — do not publish a figure and apply it at discretion; digital banks sit far lower. These limits apply per institution, not to the estate as a whole.

Sources. GOV.UK, Applying for probate; individual bank bereavement pages; GOV.UK inheritance tax thresholds.