Opening a Separate Bank Account Before Probate – Executor Question

DandelionBlue

Hi all,
I’m acting as one of the executors for my late grandfather’s estate and trying to get things set up properly from the start.
Before probate is granted, is it possible (or sensible) to open a separate bank account purely to keep estate income and expenses separate from personal funds — even if it’s not a formal executor account?
I’m not intending to mix funds, just looking for a clean way to track any payments while we’re notifying banks and dealing with small costs.
Has anyone done this?
Do banks generally allow an executor account to be opened before the Grant of Probate, or do you have to wait?

Savvy_Sue

Yes, it's sensible, and should be possible.

My experience with NatWest - which has been replicated by another poster more recently - is that you can open the account and 'name' it as an Executor account, but it's not really 'special'. You won't be able to pay money out until probate is granted, and I had to show the Grant of Probate to them to release funds.

And that was a joint account with my co-executor.

What the position is with other banks I can't say.

fwor

We had a similar experience with HSBC - they opened an Executor's account for us (joint a/c for two of us) very early in the process. As above, money can be paid in, but only paid out for a very limited set of legitimate circumstance (e.g. specific funeral expenses, paid directly to the funeral directors).

p00hsticks

To start with I just made use of an unused account in my own name. That way there are no restrictions on what you can receive in or pay out, but it kept everything separate from your own funds.

With Natwest, if you want an executor account you start with just an ordinary personal account and they can then convert it to an executor one if you need it after you get probate.

Keep_pedalling

It is unlikely that you will have to wait until you have probate before you can release some of the assets, so yea having an account to handle liquid assets and estate expenses is a good idea.

How many executors?

DandelionBlue

Thanks all, that’s really helpful.

There are three executors named in the will (my sister, myself and a professional executor), although the solicitors have indicated they would reserve power if we administer the estate ourselves.

Barclays have now frozen the accounts and mentioned their £50k probate threshold, but I won’t know the actual balance until their bereavement checks complete tomorrow. The accounts appear to be savings, bonds and two ISAs rather than a day-to-day current account.

I’m conscious that this estate isn’t tiny (there are fixed legacies of a generous sum before residue), so I’m keen to avoid transferring funds into a purely personal account in my own name if they are released early — even temporarily — just from a governance/optics point of view.

Appreciate everyone sharing their experiences — I’m just trying to sequence this properly rather than create admin (or optics) issues later.

Keep_pedalling

I would certainly avoid having the solicitors administering the estate not only from a cost aspect but because they will almost certainly introduce significant delays in the process. Either open a joint account with your sibling or a specific executor account.