Farra is a death administration assistant for UK families. Get step-by-step guidance for registering a death, applying for probate, notifying banks, and managing bereavement admin. From essential documents to practical checklists, Farra simplifies estate paperwork and funeral-related tasks so you can focus on what matters.
If you shared a bank account with your husband, wife or civil partner, the money in it normally becomes yours alone when they die. In England and Wales this happens automatically under the right of survivorship, so there is no probate to wait for and your card, online banking and direct debits usually carry on working. Tell the bank when you feel able to, send a copy of the death certificate, and it will change the account into your name. It is accounts in your spouse's name alone that are frozen until the estate is dealt with. In Scotland the position depends on the account mandate, so check with the bank first.
Usually, yes. In England and Wales a joint bank account is almost always held so that each of you owns the whole balance together. When one of you dies, the other becomes the sole owner straight away. Lawyers call this the right of survivorship. It works by law, so no court, grant or form is needed for it to happen.
In practice your debit card, online banking, standing orders and direct debits on the joint account normally keep working. When you tell the bank, its job is to take your spouse's name off the account, not to lock you out.
Note: some banks place a short hold on a joint account while they run their own checks after being told of a death. This is bank procedure, not a legal requirement, and banks do not publish how long it lasts. If you are relying on the account for day-to-day money, ask the bereavement team what will happen when you call.
Sole accounts are different. An account in your spouse's name only is frozen once the bank is told, and the money is released to whoever deals with the estate. The section on sole accounts below explains what that means for your bills.
No, not in England and Wales. Because the money passes to you by survivorship, it is not part of your spouse's estate for probate purposes, and the bank does not need to see a grant to change the account into your name.
You may still need probate for other things your spouse owned in their name alone, such as a sole savings account over the bank's limit or a house they owned on their own. Our guide to whether you need probate explains how to tell.
Do not assume the same rule applies. HMRC's guidance on Scots law says that an account being in joint names "does not necessarily mean it is held in equal shares. Neither does it mean there is survivorship destination." If the account mandate contains a survivorship destination, the money passes to you. If it does not, your spouse's share may form part of their estate and need confirmation, the Scottish equivalent of probate. Ask the bank whether the mandate has one.
There is no legal deadline for telling a bank, but it is sensible to do it within the first few weeks.
| Joint account | Account in your spouse's name only | |
|---|---|---|
| Can you keep using it? | Usually, yes | No, it is frozen once the bank is told |
| Who owns the money? | You, by survivorship | Your spouse's estate |
| Is probate needed? | No (England and Wales) | Only if the balance is over the bank's own limit |
| Direct debits | Carry on | Stop |
| Funeral bill | Pay it as normal | Many banks will pay the funeral director's invoice from it |
The table is the general position. Banks set their own procedures, so check with yours.
If household bills were paid from your spouse's sole account, those direct debits stop when it is frozen. Move the essentials, such as energy, water, council tax, the mortgage or rent and insurance, to the joint account or your own account as early as you can so nothing lapses.
Then look at what is still going out of the joint account. Keep the household bills. Cancel things that were only your spouse's, such as their subscriptions, memberships and personal insurance. If income arrives in the account, such as your spouse's pension, salary or benefits, the payer needs to be told about the death; Tell Us Once covers most government payments.
If most of the money was in your spouse's sole name and you are struggling to cover costs, our guide to accessing money before probate explains what banks will usually release.
Passing outside probate does not mean the money is invisible to HMRC. Your spouse's share of the joint account still counts as part of their estate when it is valued for inheritance tax.
HMRC does not simply assume half each. Its manual says each holder is normally treated as owning the share "attributable to their contributions". Between spouses and civil partners this rarely matters, because money passing to a surviving spouse or civil partner is normally exempt from inheritance tax, so whatever the share, it adds nothing to the bill. The exemption can be limited where the surviving spouse is not long-term UK resident; see the IHT rules for non-UK domiciles.
If you are the executor and the estate needs a full inheritance tax account, our guide to inheritance tax basics explains how the estate is valued.
Interest the joint account earns after the death is yours, and counts towards your own tax position.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects up to £120,000 per person at each authorised bank or building society. That limit rose from £85,000 on 1 December 2025. A joint account is covered up to £120,000 for each of you, so £240,000 in total. Once it is in your name alone, cover falls to £120,000.
If money arrives because of the death, such as an inheritance or an insurance payout, the FSCS's temporary high balance protection covers up to £1.4 million for six months in most cases. After that, only £120,000 at each authorised firm is protected. Brands within one banking group often share a single licence, so spreading money across brands of the same group may not increase your cover.
Survivorship applies to any joint account, whether or not you were married. The money normally passes to you in the same way. The difference is inheritance tax: the exemption between spouses only applies to married couples and civil partners. Our guide to what happens to a joint account when one owner dies covers unmarried partners, parents and adult children, and how HMRC works out the share.
Usually, yes. In England and Wales the money passes to you by survivorship as soon as your spouse dies, so your card, online banking and direct debits normally keep working. Some banks pause the account briefly while they run checks when they are told of a death, so ask yours what it does.
Not in the way a sole account does. A sole account is frozen once the bank is told. A joint account normally carries on for the surviving holder, and the bank changes it into their name once it has seen the death certificate.
No, not in England and Wales. The money passes to you outside the estate, so the bank does not need a grant of probate to change the account into your name. Probate may still be needed for things your spouse owned alone. In Scotland, check whether the account mandate has a survivorship destination.
Call the bank's bereavement team, use its online bereavement form or visit a branch. You can also use the free Death Notification Service to tell several of its member banks at once. You will need a copy of the death certificate and your own ID.
There is no legal deadline. It is sensible to tell the bank within the first few weeks, partly so it can stop payments that were only your spouse's and partly so it can tell you about any other accounts they held.
Your spouse's share counts as part of their estate, and HMRC works the share out from who paid the money in rather than assuming half each. Between spouses and civil partners there is normally no tax to pay on it, because money passing to a surviving spouse or civil partner is exempt.
Yes. Up to £120,000 per holder is protected at each authorised firm. Once the account is in your name alone, cover is £120,000. Money that arrives because of the death, such as an insurance payout, can get temporary protection of up to £1.4 million for six months.