PROBATE
FEBRUARY 2026
The bank will not talk to you yet. Here is what to do in the meantime
Until there is a death certificate and a grant, the bank will freeze the account and say very little. That is normal and it is not a judgement on you. Funeral costs can still be paid straight from the account, and here is how to ask for that in one call.
Until there is a death certificate and a grant of probate, a bank will not discuss the account with you. That is not obstruction. They have no way of knowing you are entitled to ask.
What you can do straight away is tell them. Most banks have a bereavement team and a single form. Telling them freezes the account, stops direct debits going out on an account nobody is watching, and starts their own internal process.
Ask them for the balance at the date of death in writing. You will need that figure for the estate account and for the tax return, and asking now saves a letter in three months.
If the account is in joint names it usually passes to the survivor and none of this applies. If a direct debit is paying for something the family still needs, say so on the call, because a frozen account stops the council tax as readily as it stops the gym.