What to do when someone dies

Frequently asked questions

• What is an executor or administrator and what do they do?

  An executor or administrator is the name for someone who is responsible for dealing with a person’s estate after they die. The whole process is commonly known as ‘administering an estate’ or ‘probate’ and can often take around six months or longer to complete, depending on how complicated the situation is.

  People are often nominated as an executor in a Will. If there isn’t a Will, or the nominated person doesn’t want to deal with the estate, then someone can nominate themselves as an administrator (usually a spouse, civil partner, parent, or child of the deceased). The general term for an executor or administrator is a personal representative.

• What is a Grant of Probate and how do I apply for it?

  Grant of Probate is the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money, investments and possessions (their ‘estate’) when they die. Companies will often need to see proof of this before they will distribute any assets. Only the named executor(s) in a Will can apply for a Grant of Probate, or a self-nominated administrator if there is no Will.

  As the executor or self-nominated administrator, you will need to apply to the probate registry for a Grant of Probate or equivalent. Once the application has been approved, you will receive the Grant of Probate, or what’s known as Letters of Administration if the deceased didn’t leave a will. At this point you’ll have authority to sort out the estate.

  In Scotland, the Grant of Probate is known to as a Grant (or Certificate) of Confirmation.

  More information about applying for probate can be found here: www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate

• Does HL always need to see a Grant of Probate?

  In most cases we will need to see the original Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration before we can take instructions from an executor or administrator.

  If the assets (excluding pensions) with HL are worth less than £50,000 and you are not already applying for probate, we will accept a Small Estates Declaration and Indemnity form in lieu of a Grant of Probate. (From 2027, where an estate is valued over the inheritance tax threshold, some pensions may be subject to inheritance tax.) We will provide this document in the Estate application pack that we send, however, we will require a certified copy of the Will before we can action any instructions.

  If you die intestate (without leaving a Will), we will need Letters of Administration from the self-nominated administrator, unless the value of assets held with HL is below £500.

  We don’t need to see a Grant of Probate to distribute assets held in any HL pension, as these assets sit outside of the estate.

• Can the HL investments be sold to help cover funeral costs or to pay for inheritance tax?

  Yes. We can issue a Declaration and Indemnity form to the executor(s) or to the self-nominated administrator(s) of the estate instructing this once we’ve received the death certificate.

  The ‘Declaration and Indemnity form’ can be used to sell non-pension assets for any of these three reasons:

  • To hold cash / avoid future market risk
  • To be used to pay funeral expenses
  • To be used to pay Inheritance Tax

  Please note, any funeral expenses are paid directly to the funeral directors and any inheritance tax payments are made directly to HMRC. We will not make any payments directly to executors or administrators of the estate until we have received sight of the Grant of Probate (or equivalent).