Do you need probate when a parent dies?
Very often, yes. By the time the second parent dies, the home and the savings are usually in one name, and a home in a sole name always needs a grant. The first parent's death is a different matter.
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The short answer
- When the surviving parent dies, a grant is usually needed. The home is in their sole name and the savings are often above one bank's limit.
- When the first parent dies, often not. Most assets pass to the surviving spouse by survivorship. Sole-name assets are tested against the limits.
- Who applies: the executor named in the will. With no will, the children are next after a surviving spouse, and any one or more of them (up to four) can apply.
- The first death's paperwork may never have been done. A house still registered in both names, or an old joint account, has to be tidied up before the second estate can be finished.
- The residence allowance (£175,000, plus any unused from the first parent) applies when the home passes to children or grandchildren.
When the first parent dies
If your parents were married or in a civil partnership and owned their home and accounts jointly, the first death usually needs no grant. The home passes to the survivor by survivorship (form DJP to the Land Registry); joint accounts continue in the survivor's name; pensions pay a survivor's benefit outside the estate. What needs checking is anything in the deceased parent's sole name: an ISA, Premium Bonds, a share portfolio, a car, a savings account opened decades ago. If one of those is above its holder's limit, or if the home was held as tenants in common, a grant is needed. The page on when a husband or wife dies walks through it.
Whether or not a grant is needed, keep a record of the first parent's estate: the date-of-death values, what passed to the survivor, any gifts. Your surviving parent's executors will need it, to claim the unused inheritance tax allowances on the second death. That claim can be worth up to £500,000 of tax-free allowance, and HMRC asks for the figures.
When the second parent dies
By now everything is usually in one name. The home is a sole-name property, and the Land Registry will not transfer or sell it without a grant. The savings are concentrated at one or two banks and are more likely to exceed a limit. If your parent moved into care and the home was sold, the proceeds are a large sole-name cash balance. In every one of these situations a grant is needed, and the fact that the will leaves everything equally to the children, or that you are the only child, does not change it.
The exception is the parent who rented, had modest savings and no investments: then the bank releases the balance on the death certificate and no grant is required. See small estates.
Who applies, and siblings
If there is a will, the executors it names apply. Parents often name two or more children jointly. All named executors are entitled to apply, but they need not all act: one can apply with "power reserved" to the others, who can step in later if needed, or an executor who does not want the role can renounce before doing anything. Up to four can apply together; more than four cannot.
If there is no will and no surviving spouse, the children are entitled to apply for letters of administration and inherit equally. Any one child can apply alone, though the others should be told. Where a child has already died, that child's own children take their parent's share. A stepchild who was never adopted has no entitlement.
Disagreements between siblings are the commonest source of delay in parents' estates. The person who applies takes on the legal duties and the personal liability; the others are entitled to see the accounts. Agreeing early who does the work, and that expenses will be reimbursed from the estate, avoids most of the trouble.
Inheritance tax on a parent's estate
Everything passing to children is potentially taxable above the allowances: the £325,000 nil-rate band, the £175,000 residence nil-rate band where the home passes to children or grandchildren, and any unused portion of both from a spouse who died first. For a widowed parent whose spouse left everything to them, the combined allowance is often £1 million. Above it, 40 per cent is due, and it normally has to be paid, or an instalment arrangement made for the house, before the grant is issued. Where tax is due the estate reports to HMRC on form IHT400 before applying for probate; where none is due and the estate qualifies as excepted, the values go on the probate application itself. See if there is no inheritance tax.
When the first death was never dealt with
It is common to find that when the first parent died, nobody updated anything. The house is still registered in both names; a bank account still has both names; the first parent's Premium Bonds were never claimed. All of it has to be sorted out now. The Land Registry will accept the first death certificate (form DJP) and then the second grant; the bank will want the first death certificate to treat the account as the survivor's, then deal with it as a sole-name account. If the first parent's estate would itself have needed a grant, it may need one now, in addition to the second. Take advice if the first parent owned property in their sole name that was never transferred.
Common questions
Do I need probate if my mother dies?
If she was the surviving parent and owned her home in her sole name, yes, almost certainly. If your father survives her and they owned everything jointly, usually not, unless she had sole-name savings above a bank's limit, NS&I over £5,000, or a share of the home held as tenants in common.
Do I need probate if my father died and left everything to my mother?
Assets held jointly as joint tenants pass to your mother without a grant. Anything in your father's sole name is tested against the holder's limit. Leaving everything to a spouse removes inheritance tax but does not by itself remove the need for a grant. Keep the figures: they will matter on your mother's death.
Which child applies for probate when a parent dies?
With a will, the executor or executors it names; if several children are named, one can apply with power reserved to the others. With no will and no surviving spouse, any of the children can apply for letters of administration, and up to four can apply together. The children inherit equally in either case unless the will says otherwise.
Do you need probate for both parents if they died close together?
Each estate is looked at separately. If the first to die left everything to the survivor and all assets were joint, the first estate may need no grant. The second estate almost always does. Where the first death was never dealt with, both may need tidying up before the property can be sold.
Do I need probate to sell my parents' house?
If the house was in the sole name of the last parent to die, yes. If it was still registered in both parents' names, the first death is recorded with the Land Registry on form DJP with the death certificate, and the grant for the second parent's estate is then needed to sell.
How much inheritance tax is due on a parent's estate?
Nothing up to the available allowances: £325,000 nil-rate band, £175,000 residence nil-rate band if the home passes to children or grandchildren, and any unused allowance from a spouse who died first, up to £1 million combined for a widowed parent. Above that, 40 per cent, payable before the grant is issued or by instalments on the house.
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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.