Executor question: paying estate expenses before probate when accounts are frozen?

DandelionBlue

Hi everyone,

I’m an executor of a relative’s estate in England and we’re at the very early stages (death certificate received, no probate application submitted yet).

The will names a firm of solicitors as professional executors alongside family, and we are currently deciding whether to instruct them to handle the full administration or just assist with the probate application.

Before arranging a meeting with them, I have a practical question about sequencing:

If we begin notifying banks and life assurance providers and request date-of-death balances, I understand the accounts will then be frozen.

My question is:

👉 Once accounts are frozen and before probate is granted, how are initial estate expenses usually paid?

For example:

Probate application fees

Solicitor fees (if used)

Utility bills on the property

Funeral-related costs not covered by a funeral plan

Ongoing property insurance etc.

Do banks typically release funds directly for certain expenses before the Grant?

Or is it normal for executors to pay upfront personally and reimburse themselves later?

I’m trying to understand whether there is any advantage in waiting to notify institutions until we’ve agreed the solicitor’s level of involvement — or whether that makes no practical difference.

There is unlikely to be an inheritance tax liability, and the estate includes property and bank accounts.

Grateful for any experiences or practical insight.

Keep_pedalling

Frankly I would only ask two questions, the first being are they willing to renounce their executor powers and what is their charge for doing so.

Probate (in most cases) is pretty straight forward and solicitors only add expense and greatly increase the length of the process, avoid unless the estate is very complex or contested.

Flugelhorn

Funeral expenses can be paid by the bank out of the frozen account

Utilities should wait until probate is granted

bobster2

Banks should be notified and accounts frozen immediately.

After this - some may be willing to release funds up to a threshold - before probate is obtained.

lohr500

I would second @Keep_pedalling comments.

If the estate is not complex, then seriously consider handling the executor/probate process yourselves without involving the solicitor. From everything I have heard and read, engaging the solicitor will be a costly and time consuming process.

My father passed away in November last year and his will nominated myself, my brother, my mother (his wife) and a firm of solicitors as executors.

The solicitors were willing to renounce their powers (they charged £450 to complete a very basic PA17 renunciation form which must have taken all of two or three minutes to complete!!).

My mother and brother were happy for me to act as the main executor, so held "Power Reserved" on the Probate application form.

With the solicitors renunciation and the other executors holding Power Reserved, I was able to obtain Probate with myself as the sole administrator which made the whole process of sorting out the estate so much quicker.

The the death was registered and death certificate issued on the 28th November, the estate fell into the excepted category so no IHT was payable, Probate was applied for online on the 1st December and Probate was granted on the 8th December. The Probate certificate and requested copies arrived in the post a few days later.

I suspect if the solicitors had been involved we would probably still be waiting for Probate today!!!

I'm still not sure what happens if the solicitors refuse to renunciate.

As @bobster2 mentions, some institutions will release the deceased funds to the executor/s on presentation of the death certificate. Others will insist on seeing the Probate certificate before releasing funds. It may depend on the value.

My father had several cash accounts and investments. His current account was with Barclays and they were happy to release circa £6k on sight of the death certificate and will. They were also happy to pay the funeral costs on presentation of the funeral director's bill, but this wasn't needed as they had already released the funds from the account in the days preceding the funeral.

Yorkshire Building Society and Skipton Building Society also released funds of circa £4k and £3k on presentation of the death certificate and the will.

Due to the value held in Premium Bonds and with Virgin Money, both did require sight of the Probate certificate before they would release the funds.

For the Utilities and Property Insurance, because my father was survived by his spouse, we were able to contact each of them and either get the accounts transferred across to my mothers name, or cancel the accounts and set up new accounts in her name.

The "Tell me Once" service handled most of the state related services such as state pension, driving licence/passport cancellation, etc, but not Council Tax.

For all the accounts and services not covered by "Tell me Once" , I just contacted the bereavement team for each institution and found all of them to be really helpful and sympathetic, guiding me through each of their specific requirements.

Also, I got lots of help from folks here on this section of the MSE forum when I had questions over the probate process in general and specific sections on the application form.

In my opinion, the bottom line is this : If the estate is simple and doesn't involve trusts or other complex issues in the will, thn don't be daunted by taking a DIY approach to Probate.

Keep_pedalling

I could be wrong but I don’t think we have seen a thread on here where a solicitor has refused to renounce where other executors have been named. They may refuse to so if appointed as sole executors as one of the reasons they were appointed is because the testator did not trust their family to wind up the estate correctly or without major falling out.

DandelionBlue

Thank you for the replies.

Just to clarify — we have already asked the solicitors about renunciation. They have confirmed they will not renounce, but would reserve power to the other executors if we decide to proceed ourselves.

My understanding is that they were likely appointed in the will to provide support, as the family executors are not local and all have significant other commitments. There is no dispute or apparent complexity in the estate at this stage.

We do not yet know how much liquidity is in the estate (i.e. how much cash versus property), which is why I’m trying to understand the practical sequencing before we start notifying institutions.

My original question was really about how early estate costs are typically managed once banks are notified and accounts are frozen, particularly where liquidity is not yet clear.

I appreciate the examples shared about banks releasing smaller balances pre-probate — that context is helpful.

Can I also clarify something from those who’ve been through this:

When banks released funds pre-probate, was that because the entire account balance was below that bank’s probate threshold?

Or do some banks release a portion of a larger account balance (e.g. up to a certain limit) while holding the remainder pending probate?

I’m trying to understand whether release depends on the total value of the account, or whether there’s discretion to release part of it before the Grant.

Keep_pedalling

Banks will release the lot providing the total amount held within that banking group is under the threshold, if it is over, other than paying funeral costs or direct payment of IHT, nothing will be released until probate has been obtained.

RAS

Empty property insurance is essential and you need to work out a way of meeting the requirements, which might be keeping the heating on, or draining down liquid systems and turning off everything else.

Most insurers will continue until the end of the existing contract. Usually there is a requirement for regular visits but the interval will differ between providers. Hopefully there is a friend of neighbour nearby who can do that for you?

Be careful with using the legal firm. An OP here discovered that they hadn't visited as required, despite billing for it. There was a burst and they refused to accept liability for the damage which reduced the property value.

Utilities, if used, will wait for payment until probate is granted. Check with the local council as the rules on CT are set at that level. They might waive for a while, or might start charging the empty property rate very quickly.

Providing you've got one account that can be liquidated, it should be possible to pay on-going expenses prior to probate.

Newly_retired

My husband's bank. Lloyds, released all his accounts to me once they had received the death certificate. The bereavement team were very helpful. I already had accounts with them, though not my main bank, so I opened a dedicated account for the estate in my name, into which all his assets with Lloyds were transferred. This provided enough money for estate expenses, overpayments etc.

Other institutions took longer, and NS & I required Probate.