Do I need probate if everything is in joint names?
If everything really was joint, and joint in the right way, no. The two things to check are whether the property was held as joint tenants, and whether "everything" is quite true.
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The short answer
- Assets held as joint tenants pass to the surviving owner automatically. They are outside the estate and no grant is needed. Send each organisation a death certificate.
- Property is the exception to check. If the home was held as tenants in common, the deceased's share does not pass automatically and a grant is needed.
- Some things cannot be joint: ISAs, Premium Bonds, pensions, a car's registration. Look for these before concluding everything was joint.
- The Land Registry needs form DJP and a death certificate to take the name off the title. No fee, no grant.
- Keep the valuations. If the survivor is a spouse, the figures may be needed for inheritance tax when they die.
This is the situation the law makes easiest. Survivorship is automatic: the surviving joint owner does not inherit the asset under the will or the intestacy rules, they simply become the sole owner at the moment of death. No grant, no court, no waiting. The work is confirming that this is really what happened, for each asset.
Why joint assets need no grant
A grant of representation exists to prove who has authority over a dead person's estate. A joint asset held as joint tenants never becomes part of that estate. The moment one owner dies, the whole asset belongs to the survivor by operation of law. There is nothing for an executor or administrator to deal with, so no organisation needs a grant before acting.
What the organisation does need is evidence of the death. For a bank, a death certificate (an original or a certified copy) and sometimes a short form. For the Land Registry, form DJP with a certified copy of the death certificate. For a joint investment account, the platform's own bereavement form. Each will then re-register the asset in the survivor's name alone.
Joint tenants or tenants in common: check the property
Two people can own land together in two different ways, and the paperwork often does not say which in plain words.
- Joint tenants own the whole property together. On a death it passes entirely to the survivor. Most couples who bought together own this way.
- Tenants in common each own a share, usually half. The deceased's share passes under their will or intestacy, and a grant is needed to deal with it. Couples who took advice about care fees or second marriages, and friends or siblings who bought together, often own this way.
To find out, look at the Land Registry title. An official copy costs £7 online. If the register contains a "Form A restriction" (wording along the lines of "no disposition by a sole proprietor of the registered estate under which capital money arises is to be registered"), the owners were tenants in common. If there is no such restriction, they were joint tenants. A conveyancing file or the original transfer deed will also say. If a "notice of severance" was ever served, the joint tenancy was converted to tenants in common. See tenants in common for what follows.
Things that are never joint
"Everything in joint names" is usually a description of the main assets rather than a complete inventory. Some assets can only be held in one name:
- ISAs. Always individual. A sole-name ISA is tested against the provider's limit. See ISAs.
- Premium Bonds and other NS&I products. Individual, and NS&I's limit is £5,000. See Premium Bonds.
- Pensions. Individual, but usually paid outside the estate anyway. See pensions.
- Cars. Registered to one keeper. See cars.
- Shares held in certificated form or on a platform. Often individual. See shares.
- Money owed to the person: a tax refund, a final salary payment, a compensation claim.
None of these forces a grant on its own if it is below the relevant limit. But a £60,000 sole-name ISA, or £8,000 of Premium Bonds, does.
No grant, but keep the records
Where the survivor is a spouse or civil partner, everything that passed to them was exempt from inheritance tax, and the deceased's own allowances went unused. When the survivor dies, their executors can claim those unused allowances, potentially doubling the tax-free amount to £650,000, or £1 million with the residence allowance. HMRC will ask for the value of the first estate and what passed to whom.
Put the death certificate, a note of the date-of-death values of the joint assets, and any correspondence in one folder. It will be needed years from now by someone who was not there.
Common questions
Do you need probate if a house is jointly owned?
Not if it was owned as joint tenants: it passes to the surviving owner by survivorship and the Land Registry updates the title on form DJP with a death certificate. If it was owned as tenants in common, the deceased's share is part of the estate and a grant is needed to deal with it. Check the title for a Form A restriction.
How do I know if we were joint tenants or tenants in common?
Get an official copy of the Land Registry title (£7 online). A Form A restriction in the proprietorship register means tenants in common. No restriction means joint tenants. The original transfer deed or your conveyancing file will also say, and any notice of severance served later converts joint tenants into tenants in common.
Do I need probate if all assets go to my spouse?
Not for assets that were held jointly as joint tenants, which pass automatically. For anything in the deceased's sole name, the answer depends on whether the holder's limit is exceeded. Leaving everything to a spouse removes inheritance tax but does not by itself remove the need for a grant.
Is probate needed if everything is in joint names but there is a will?
No. A will only governs assets that form part of the estate. Joint-tenant assets never do; they pass to the survivor regardless of what the will says. If there are no sole-name assets above any limit, the will is not proved and no grant is needed.
What do I send the Land Registry when a joint owner dies?
Form DJP (Deceased Joint Proprietor) with an official or certified copy of the death certificate. There is no fee. The Land Registry removes the deceased's name and the survivor becomes the sole registered proprietor. If a Form A restriction is on the title, the survivor should take advice before selling, because a second trustee will be needed to give a valid receipt.
Can the bank freeze a joint account when one holder dies?
No. The account continues in the survivor's name and can be used normally. The bank will remove the deceased's name when it sees the death certificate. This is different from a sole-name account, which is frozen until the estate is dealt with.
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Important
Solace is not a firm of solicitors and does not provide legal, tax or financial advice. We are an estate administration service and we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority or any equivalent body. Nothing in this guide constitutes legal, tax or financial advice, and no solicitor–client relationship is created by reading it.
This article is general information only. It reflects the position in England and Wales at the date shown above; the law and the figures change, and Scotland and Northern Ireland differ in important respects. It may not apply to your circumstances. Whether a particular estate needs a grant is ultimately decided by the organisations holding the assets, and their limits change. Administering an estate carries personal legal responsibility, and you should obtain advice from a qualified solicitor, accountant or other regulated professional where appropriate. Always check current rates, fees and deadlines against GOV.UK before acting.