A reader is making preparations now – the right thing do for peace of mind, says The i Paper’s expert

In our weekly series, readers can email any question about their finances, to be answered by our expert, Rosie Hooper. Rosie is a chartered financial planner at Quilter Cheviot and has worked in financial services for 25 years. If you have a question for her, email us at money@inews.co.uk

Question: I think my 96-year-old father has a very simple financial set-up, and wonder if probate will be required at all, once he passes. Our mother – his wife – passed in 2021, and left everything to him. Dad now lives in our family home – in an independent annex. There will be a cash estate of around £500,000. He has a simple will: all proceeds will be divided equally between his two daughters and £10,000 each to his four grandchildren. Myself and my sister both have power of attorney for both his health and finances. Can we simply action his will’s wishes post-death by distributing his bank balance as specified?

Answer: When a parent’s finances are simple, it is easy to assume the administration will be too. But even a straightforward estate can still need probate, especially where several accounts and institutions are involved.

In this case, you father has no debts, modest outgoings, and a total estate worth roughly £500,000, mostly held in cash across an NS&I one-year bond, a Santander savings account, premium bonds and some small private pensions. His will is simple, dividing everything between his two daughters with small cash gifts to his grandchildren.

New FeatureIn ShortQuick Stories. Same trusted journalism.

At first glance this looks refreshingly uncomplicated. But you are understandably anxious about what happens when he dies. Will probate be required? Who needs to contact HMRC? Can they access the funds without a solicitor?

The short answer is that probate will almost certainly be required, even though the estate itself is not large enough to incur inheritance tax. Probate is the legal process that gives the executors, in this case you and your sister, the authority to access the deceased’s accounts and distribute the estate according to the will. Without it, banks and investment providers are legally limited in what they can release.

Each institution has its own threshold for releasing funds without probate. Santander’s current limit is £50,000, while NS&I will typically insist on probate for any account exceeding £5,000. As your father’s NS&I holdings alone exceed £400,000, you will need to apply for probate before they will release those funds.

That said, the process should be relatively straightforward. Because everything is in his sole name and his will is simple, you can usually apply online through the Government’s probate service. You will first need to register the death and obtain the death certificate, then potentially complete an inheritance tax return, even if no tax is owed, before submitting the probate application.

The good news is that the estate should fall comfortably below the inheritance tax threshold. Your father has his own £325,000 nil rate band, plus the unused allowance from your late mother, which doubles it to £650,000. Assuming the estate is around £500,000, there will be no inheritance tax to pay.

On HMRC’s side, there should not be any additional tax obligations unless there is untaxed income or capital gains from investments, which seems unlikely given the low-risk nature of his holdings. Pension income is taxed at source, and interest from his accounts will already have been declared through the usual self-assessment process if needed.

You’ve also asked whether your father could move or “pre-sign” withdrawals now to make life easier later. While tempting, this is best avoided. Once someone is approaching the end of life, any large movement of money can raise red flags with financial institutions and may complicate the estate. More importantly, banks and NS&I will not accept pre-signed or “future-dated” withdrawal instructions. The accounts will be frozen upon notification of death, and funds can only be released to the executor once probate has been granted.

If your father is still managing his own accounts and wishes to make things simpler, he could consolidate some smaller pots now or ensure that everything is clearly labelled and accessible. But there is no way to sidestep probate for assets of this scale, and in truth, that is no bad thing. The process exists to ensure funds are distributed correctly and securely.

How does probate work?

When the time comes, your first step will be to contact each bank or provider with the death certificate. They will confirm the balances and advise whether they require probate. Once probate is granted, you will receive an official document called a grant of probate, which acts as your legal authority to collect the funds, pay any outstanding bills or funeral costs, and then distribute what is left according to the will.

You asked whether this can all be done without a solicitor. For an estate of this size, absolutely. Many families choose to handle probate themselves, especially when the assets are cash-based and there is no property sale involved. The Government’s online system is designed for this very situation, and as long as you are comfortable completing some basic forms, there is little benefit to paying a solicitor’s fee.

While this is inevitably a sensitive topic to plan for, a little preparation can save a lot of stress later. Make sure your father’s paperwork is in order, that his will is up to date and signed, and that you have copies of his key account numbers and pension details. If his wish is for things to be simple, clarity now will be the best gift he leaves behind.