Financial advice after your partner has died

What to sort out, in the order it usually comes up

Probate rules here are for England and Wales. Registering a death and Bereavement Support Payment work slightly differently in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

1. Step 1

   What has to be done straight away?

   Register the death within 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or 8 days in Scotland. Ask for several certified copies of the death certificate, because banks, pension schemes and insurers each want to see one.

   When you register, you will usually be offered Tell Us Once. It reports the death to most government departments in one go, including HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA and the local council.

   Most banks have a bereavement team, and many will pay a funeral bill directly from the account of the person who died. Almost everything else can wait a few weeks.

2. Step 2

   What happens to our joint account and our home?

   • Joint accounts usually pass straight to you. The bank changes the account into your sole name once it has seen the death certificate.
   • Accounts in your partner's sole name become part of their estate, and the bank may ask for probate before releasing the money.
   • A home owned as joint tenants passes to you automatically. A home owned as tenants in common passes under the will.

   Find the will, and check who the executors are. If there is no will, the intestacy rules decide who inherits. Under those rules, a partner you weren't married to or in a civil partnership with inherits nothing, however long you lived together.

3. Step 3

   How do I apply for probate?

   In England and Wales:

   • Value everything your partner owned and owed.
   • If Inheritance Tax is due, report it to HMRC on form IHT400 and wait for HMRC's code before applying.
   • Apply online or by post. The fee is £526 if the estate is worth more than £5,000, and nothing if it is £5,000 or less.
   • You'll usually get probate within 12 weeks of applying. Don't sell property until you have it.

   Everything left to a husband, wife or civil partner is free of Inheritance Tax. Our estate administration module has the full step-by-step list.

4. Step 4

   What money might I be entitled to?

   • Bereavement Support Payment: £3,500 plus 18 monthly payments of £350 if you're entitled to Child Benefit or were pregnant, otherwise £2,500 plus 18 payments of £100. You must have been under State Pension age when your partner died. Claim within 3 months to get the full amount.
   • Your partner's pensions: workplace and personal pensions often pay a lump sum or a survivor's pension. Contact each scheme with the death certificate.
   • Lost pensions: the government's free Pension Tracing Service finds contact details for pension schemes your partner may have belonged to.
   • Life insurance: check bank statements for payments to insurers, and ask their employer about death-in-service cover.

5. Step 5

   When is regulated advice worth it?

   You don't need an adviser to register a death or apply for probate. Advice becomes useful when you inherit a pension or a lump sum, need to replace your partner's income, or are deciding whether to buy an annuity. Those decisions are often hard to undo, so there is no rush to make them in the first months.

   Helena.finance lists FCA-regulated advisers who specialise in advice for women, mainly in the East and South East of England. Search by postcode on our find an adviser page. If you have used Helena, our AI assistant, and saved a Financial Snapshot, you can choose to attach it when you send an enquiry. Helena gives general information, not advice.