What to Do With Your Finances When Someone Dies — UK Guide 2026

Losing someone is overwhelming. The financial and legal steps that follow can feel impossible to navigate — especially while grieving. This hub brings together everything you need to know about managing a deceased person’s estate, claiming what you are entitled to, and settling their financial affairs.

The Financial Checklist After a Death

These are the key steps in roughly the order you will need to take them. Not all will apply to every situation.

Immediate (first 1–2 weeks)

Register the death. In England and Wales, deaths must be registered within 5 days at the local register office. You will receive death certificates (order at least 6 copies — banks, insurers and HMRC will each need one).

Locate the will. Check at home, with solicitors, and with the National Will Register. If there is no will (dying “intestate”), the estate passes under the intestacy rules — which may not match the deceased’s wishes.

Notify immediate creditors and insurers. Tell the mortgage lender (to protect the property), the landlord (if renting), and any insurance companies where cover needs to remain in place during administration.

Apply for a Tell Us Once service. GOV.UK’s Tell Us Once service notifies many government departments — HMRC, DWP, DVLA, Passport Office — in a single step. Ask the registrar for details when registering the death.

Within the first month

Assess whether probate is needed. Probate (formally, a Grant of Probate in England and Wales) is the legal authority to deal with the estate. It is usually required when:

• There is solely owned property
• A bank or financial institution requires it (most require probate for accounts over £5,000–£15,000)
• Stocks and shares are held in the deceased’s sole name

Notify all banks and financial institutions. Contact each one with a death certificate. Accounts will be frozen (not closed) until the estate is settled. Joint accounts continue operating normally.

Check pension nominations. The deceased’s employer or pension provider needs notifying. Death-in-service benefits are usually paid to whoever was nominated — check the expression of wishes form.

During administration

Complete an inheritance tax return. Even if no IHT is due (most estates are below the threshold), HMRC requires a form to be submitted if the estate includes property. HMRC Form IHT205 is used for simple estates; IHT400 for more complex ones.

Apply for probate. Once the inheritance tax position is known, apply for a Grant of Probate online or by post. As of 2026, the standard application fee is £300 for estates over £5,000 (free for smaller estates).

Collect assets and pay debts. Use the Grant of Probate to collect money from banks and sell or transfer assets. Pay all outstanding debts, bills, and taxes before distributing to beneficiaries.

File a final tax return for the deceased. If the deceased filed self assessment, a final return is needed for the period up to the date of death. The estate may also owe income tax on interest or rental income earned during administration.

Inheritance Tax: The Key Thresholds

Inheritance tax (IHT) is charged at 40% on the value of the estate above the nil-rate band. The key thresholds for 2026/27:

IHT must be paid before probate is granted. If the estate includes illiquid assets (property, shares), HMRC allows payment by instalments for some assets.

See the full Inheritance Tax Guide for detailed calculations and reliefs.

Bereavement Benefits

If your spouse or civil partner has died, you may be entitled to financial support:

Bereavement Support Payment (BSP) is the main benefit for people whose spouse or civil partner has died. It is:

• Tax-free and does not affect most other benefits
• A lump sum of up to £3,500 (higher rate if you have children) followed by 18 monthly payments
• You must claim within 3 months of the death to receive the full entitlement — claims made later receive fewer payments
• You must have been under State Pension age at the time of the death

Inherited state pension: The rules depend on when both you and your spouse reached state pension age. Those under the new state pension (from April 2016) can inherit a portion of their partner’s protected payment or Additional State Pension. Those over State Pension age before April 2016 may inherit more — contact the Pension Service.

Guardian’s Allowance: If you are responsible for a child whose parents have both died (or in some cases where one parent has died), you may be entitled to Guardian’s Allowance in addition to Child Benefit.

See the full Bereavement Support Payment Guide for eligibility and how to claim.

What Happens Without a Will (Intestacy)

If there is no valid will, the intestacy rules determine who inherits. In England and Wales:

• If married with children: spouse inherits personal possessions plus the first £322,000 and half the remainder; children share the other half
• If married, no children: spouse inherits everything
• If unmarried with children: children inherit everything equally — an unmarried partner receives nothing
• If unmarried, no children: parents inherit; if no parents, siblings inherit

Unmarried partners have no automatic legal right to inherit, regardless of how long the relationship lasted. This is one of the strongest arguments for writing a will.

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Related Guides

• Inheritance Tax Guide UK 2026/27 — full IHT calculation, reliefs, and planning
• What Happens to My Pension When I Die? — pension death benefits and nominations