Tell each bank about the death through its official bereavement route. The bank will explain what happens to sole and joint accounts, which documents it needs and whether a grant is required. Do not use the person’s card or online login to move money. Ask separately about essential bills and any direct payment of a funeral invoice before assuming funds are available.
Use your own bank’s official process; this provider example does not set rules for every bank: Lloyds: example of an official bank bereavement route
What should I ask during the first bank bereavement call?
Ask which accounts are affected, what evidence the bank accepts and whether it needs a grant for this estate. Then ask about funeral invoices, joint-account access and existing payments. Record the reference and next requested document; another bank may have a different process or threshold.
Example: a direct debit pays for the surviving partner’s home
An energy bill is paid from a sole account that is being restricted after the death. Contact both the bank and supplier to agree a lawful replacement arrangement for the surviving household. Do not use the deceased person’s login or cancel essential supply merely to tidy the account list.
Notification, release of funds and closure are separate
A bank’s acknowledgement confirms receipt of a notification, not that the balance has been released or the estate administration finished. Keep those stages separate in your worksheet. Ask who is authorised to receive the funds and how the bank will confirm completion.
Choose the next step you need
Government notifications are separate: Tell Us Once
If a grant is requested: understand the probate process
Bank bereavement follow up sheet
Track each bank separately and use its official bereavement route. This sheet is not authority to withdraw money, close an account or act for the estate.
Printable PDF · Editable text file
How to use the worksheet
Use one sheet for each case. Mark missing information as open and identify who will follow up. Check the guidance before acting.
Bank and account type
Official bereavement route used
Notification date and reference
Documents the bank requested
Joint account or payment question
Confirmed next step and follow up date
Example: A bank has acknowledged the death but has not confirmed whether a grant is required. Record that question as open. Do not mark the account as closed merely because the notification was received.
Government notifications and bank notifications are separate workstreams. What Tell Us Once covers.
What happens to a bank account when someone dies?
Once a bank is told about a death, an account held in that person's sole name is frozen. Lloyds Bank's bereavement guidance is a typical example: the accounts are frozen, cards and cheque books are cancelled, standing orders and direct debits are stopped, and money paid in afterwards is returned to the sender. Interest continues to be paid until the account is closed, while fees and interest charges stop.
Freezing is there to protect the estate, not to make life harder. It stops anyone using the money before the person legally entitled to deal with the estate, the executor or administrator, has been confirmed. The balance itself does not disappear. It becomes part of the estate and is eventually paid out according to the will or, if there is no will, the intestacy rules.
This guide focuses on the UK. If you are dealing with accounts in Sweden, Finland or another Nordic country, our general guide to closing bank accounts after a death covers those systems.
How do you tell the bank that someone has died?
You can contact each bank's bereavement team directly, by phone, online or in a branch. If the person had accounts with several banks or building societies, the Death Notification Service can save you repeating the same conversation many times. It is free, and lets you notify a number of member organisations about a death in one go. Members listed on its FAQ include Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest, RBS and Santander, along with many other banks, building societies and insurers.
To use it, you need the person's full name, date of birth, date of death and last address. Account numbers help but are not required, and you do not need to send proof of death at that stage, although each bank may ask for it later. The service says that where a live account is found, each member organisation will contact you within 10 working days. If there is no account with that organisation, it will not write back. If you prefer to do this by phone, the helpline is 0333 2076574.
The Death Notification Service is separate from the government's Tell Us Once service, which notifies government bodies such as HMRC and DWP but not banks. Most families end up using both. The service's own FAQ also advises that if money or property needs to be released urgently, you should speak to the bank directly first.
Where do I notify Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds or NatWest?
Start with the bank’s own bereavement page. Telling a bank about the death is the first step; it does not by itself authorise the release of money.
Barclays bereavement notification: use the online form, phone or postal route shown on its official page. Barclays will explain which documents it needs.
HSBC bereavement notification: provide your details and the deceased person’s details through its online service. You can start without every document and use the reference number to supply more later.
Lloyds Bank bereavement support: check its current notification options and document requirements before arranging account closure.
NatWest bereavement support: follow its current steps for notifying the bank and dealing with the account.
If you use the Death Notification Service instead, keep its confirmation and respond to each bank’s follow-up. Ask the bank directly about urgent funeral payments or the evidence needed to release funds. Solace Care does not submit these bank notifications through this guide.
What documents will the bank ask for?
Each bank has its own process, but most ask for the same core documents. Lloyds, for example, asks for:
an original death certificate from the registrar, or an interim death certificate or coroner's certificate
proof of identity for the person dealing with the estate, such as a valid passport or UK photocard driving licence
the will, if there is one, which may name the executors
a grant of probate or letters of administration, if the bank says one is needed
Because banks generally want to see an original death certificate, it can help to buy several copies when you register the death. That way you can deal with more than one bank at the same time, rather than waiting for each certificate to be returned.
Can you close a bank account without probate?
Sometimes, yes. In England and Wales there is no single legal threshold. GOV.UK's probate guidance says to contact the person's bank and other financial organisations to find out whether you will need probate, because every organisation has its own rules. For smaller estates, some banks release the money to the executor or next of kin without a grant if you sign an indemnity, a promise to put things right if someone with a better claim comes forward later. NatWest, for example, describes this as an agreement to release funds without the need for a grant of representation.
GOV.UK also notes you may not need probate if the person only had savings, or if their money was held jointly with someone else, because joint money normally passes to the surviving owner. Where the bank does need a grant, the executor named in the will applies for probate, and if there is no will, the closest relative applies for letters of administration. Our guide on how to apply for probate explains the process step by step.
The rules differ elsewhere in the UK. In Northern Ireland, nidirect says a grant is almost always needed where the person left around £20,000 in any one account, and you may not need one if they left less than £20,000 or owned everything jointly. In Scotland the court document is called confirmation, and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service treats an estate of £36,000 or less as a small estate, which has its own simpler application route.
What happens to a joint bank account when one person dies?
A joint account is usually much simpler. In most cases the money passes automatically to the surviving account holder, and the account stays open in their name. Lloyds explains that joint accounts are transferred to the remaining holder, who can keep using them, and that standing orders and direct debits continue.
You still need to tell the bank about the death and send a copy of the death certificate so the records can be updated. If you have a joint account and are also the executor, it can help to keep the joint money separate in your own records from anything belonging to the estate. If you are unsure whether an account was really joint, or there are other people who may have a claim, a solicitor or regulated adviser can help.
Can the funeral be paid from the account of the person who died?
Often, yes. Banks such as Lloyds and NatWest can pay a funeral director directly from the account of the person who died, even before probate, as long as there is enough money in it. Lloyds says it can pay the funeral director directly once it has the bill, and can also pay Inheritance Tax and probate costs from the account. NatWest's bereavement page explains that an executor account opened before probate is granted can still be used to pay the final funeral invoice.
Send the funeral director's invoice to the bank's bereavement team together with the death certificate, and ask how they prefer to receive it. This can ease the pressure on family members who would otherwise pay the funeral costs first and claim them back later.
How long does it take to close a bank account after a death?
It depends on whether a grant is needed and on each bank's own process. When no grant is needed, the account can usually be settled once the bank has the documents it asked for. When a grant is needed, it takes longer. Lloyds says getting the grant back from the Probate Registry usually takes 8 to 16 weeks, and that dealing with an estate as a whole can take 9 to 12 months, sometimes longer.
Once the bank has everything it needs, it closes the account and pays the balance, usually to the executor or administrator or into an executor account, so it can be shared out under the will or the intestacy rules. Before the money is distributed, any debts and taxes owed by the estate are paid. If there is Inheritance Tax to pay, GOV.UK explains that it normally has to be started before probate is granted.
What about direct debits, standing orders and subscriptions?
When a sole account is frozen, the bank stops standing orders and direct debits. Recurring card payments such as streaming services, apps or memberships are different. Lloyds notes that it cannot stop subscription payments itself, so you need to cancel them with each company. Going through the last few months of statements is a good way to spot them, and to identify utilities, insurers and other companies you will need to tell.
Bank statements are also a useful map of the person's wider affairs. Regular payments in may point to pensions or investment income, and payments out may reveal life insurance premiums or loans. Make a note of each one so nothing is missed.
Frequently asked questions: Bank accounts after death
Can I withdraw money from the bank account of someone who has died?
Not from an account in their sole name, even if you know the PIN or have their card. The money belongs to the estate, and only the bank can release it to the executor or administrator. A surviving joint account holder can keep using a joint account.
Is the Death Notification Service the same as Tell Us Once?
No. The Death Notification Service tells member banks, building societies and insurers about a death. Tell Us Once tells government organisations. The two are independent and work best used together.
What if I don't know which banks the person used?
Look through post, emails, statements, tax paperwork and any banking apps on their phone or computer. Notifying the main banks through the Death Notification Service can also help, because a member organisation will only write back if it finds a live account.
Does the bank need probate for a joint account?
Usually not. Money held jointly normally passes automatically to the surviving account holder, so the bank only needs to see the death certificate to update the account.
How Solace Care can help
Availability: These guides are freely accessible. The Solace platform currently supports Sweden, Finland, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. UK-specific features and legal document templates are not yet confirmed. Before signing up, contact support@solace.care to check access and which features are suitable for you.
Use this guide without an account for bank references and outstanding document requests. If you would also like to explore the app, ask support@solace.care which features are available for your UK needs. Once confirmed, you can create an account.
Would you prefer to follow news by email? Open the optional newsletter form. Subscribing does not create an app account; this guide remains freely accessible.
