Do you need probate for a small estate?

If you've been named executor and you're staring at a stack of bank statements wondering whether you actually need to apply for probate, you're not alone. It's one of the first questions almost every executor asks.

The honest answer is: it depends. Not every estate needs probate. Some can be settled with nothing more than a death certificate and a phone call to the bank. Others need it, even when the estate is small.

Here's how to work out which one you're dealing with.

The short version

Probate (or Confirmation, if the person who died lived in Scotland) gives you the legal authority to deal with their money, property, and possessions. You generally need it when an asset is held solely in the name of the person who died and can't be released or transferred without that authority.

You often don't need it when assets pass automatically to someone else, or when the amounts involved are small enough that the organisation holding them agrees to release them without seeing a grant.

The rest of this article walks through the details.

The factors that decide it

1. Was the asset solely owned, or held jointly?

This is usually the biggest factor. If the person who died owned something jointly with someone else, such as a joint bank account or a house held as joint tenants, it normally passes straight to the surviving joint owner by survivorship. No probate needed for that asset.

If it was held in their name alone, the bank, building society, or registry will need the proper legal authority to handle the asset. That's where probate usually comes in.

2. Is there a property?

Property is the factor that most often tips a small estate into needing probate. If the person who died owned a house or flat in their sole name, you'll almost always need probate (or Confirmation in Scotland) to sell it or transfer it, whatever the total value of the estate.

If the property was jointly owned as joint tenants, it usually passes to the surviving owner without probate. If it was owned as tenants in common, their share forms part of the estate and probate is more likely to be needed.

3. How much is in the bank accounts?

Banks and building societies each set their own threshold for releasing funds without seeing a grant of probate. There's no single number across the industry. Many sit somewhere between a few thousand pounds and around £50,000, and the figure can vary between institutions and even between products at the same bank.

Below their threshold, some banks will release the funds directly to the executor once they've seen the death certificate and some ID. Above it, they'll ask for probate first. It's worth contacting each bank directly and asking what their threshold is, since you can't assume it'll match the one at a different bank.

4. Does the asset have a named beneficiary?

Some assets pass outside the estate entirely, so probate isn't relevant to them. This usually includes:

• Pensions with a nominated beneficiary
• Life insurance policies written in trust
• Assets held jointly with survivorship rights

These pay out directly to the person named, regardless of what the will says or how big the rest of the estate is.

How this differs across the UK

The principle is the same everywhere: sole assets above a threshold usually need a grant, jointly owned or nominated assets usually don't. But the detail varies by nation.

England and Wales. The process is called probate. There's no court fee at all for estates worth £5,000 or under. Above that, a single flat fee of £526 applies, whatever the estate's total value.

Scotland. The process is called Confirmation, and it's issued by the Sheriff Court rather than a probate registry. Scotland has a specific small estate procedure for estates under £36,000, which uses a simplified version of the application form and has no court fee.

Northern Ireland. The process is also called probate, handled by the Probate and Matrimonial Office in Belfast. There's no fee for estates of £10,000 or under, and it remains more paper-based than the online system used in England and Wales.

In all three nations, the exact threshold each bank sets for releasing funds without a grant is set by the bank, not by the government.

Your self-check list

Work through this with the paperwork you've gathered so far. You don't need every answer today, just a rough picture.

• List the assets. What did they own, and roughly what's each one worth?
• Mark ownership. For each asset, was it solely owned, or jointly owned?
• Flag any property. Was there a house or flat, and was it solely owned or held as tenants in common? If yes to either, probate is likely.
• Check the bank balances. For each solely owned account, is the balance likely to be above or below that bank's own threshold? A quick call or look at their website will tell you.
• Note anything with a named beneficiary. Pensions, life insurance in trust, and similar policies usually sit outside the estate.
• Confirm which nation they lived in. This decides whether you're looking at probate, Confirmation, or the Northern Ireland process, and which fee threshold applies.

If most of what you've listed is jointly owned or has a named beneficiary, and there's no solely owned property, you may be able to settle the estate without probate. If there's a solely owned property, or several accounts above their bank's threshold, you'll almost certainly need it.

Either way, it's completely normal not to know the answer straight away. Most executors don't at the start of the process.

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Sources

• GOV.UK, Applying for probate: fees
• GOV.UK, Court and tribunal fees: updates from July 2026
• Citizens Advice, Dealing with the financial affairs of someone who has died
• Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, Small estates
• mygov.scot, Applying for confirmation when someone dies
• nidirect, Probate

Bank release thresholds are set individually by each institution and can change, so treat the figures above as a general guide and confirm directly with the bank holding the account.

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