Bereavement FAQs

Based at head office in Skipton, our specially trained team supports bereaved next of kin and personal representatives. They'll guide you through our process of notifying us of the death of a customer and what happens next. You can call the team directly on 0345 266 1209 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

When you call, you'll need to answer a few security questions but you'll only need to go through the details once per call. There might be a limit on the amount of information we'll be able to give you at this time, unless you can prove you're an executor (if there is a Will) or legal next of kin (if there is no Will) or you're the solicitor acting for the estate.

If there's a Will, once we have registered the death, we'll be able to provide account information to the named executor(s) or the solicitor acting on their behalf. We might ask to see the Will to make sure we're giving information to the right person.

If someone hasn't made a Will, this is called being 'intestate'. In this case, we can only give information to certain people. First we speak to the spouse or civil partner, or the solicitor appointed to act on behalf of the estate. If there's no surviving spouse, we might be able to deal with adult children or parents.

A GOP (or a Certificate of Confirmation in Scotland) gives the appointed executor authority to distribute the assets of the estate. If the person who died had more than £30,000 with Skipton, the executor will need a GOP (or Letters of Administration if there is no Will), which is issued by your local District Probate Office. If they had £30,000 or less, we may be able to release the funds if you provide us with a completed Letter of Indemnity and/or a Statutory Declaration.

These documents have particular requirements (See 'What documents do I need if the total held in savings accounts is £30,000 or less?'). If you can't meet the requirements for any reason, even if the estate is worth £30,000 or less, you'll need a GOP (or Letters of Administration if there is no Will).

You can apply to the Probate Registry yourself (details can be found on the government website). Please note, the government website also uses the term 'Grant of Representation' for GOP or Letters of Administration.

Alternatively, you can pay a fee for someone to handle this for you, like a solicitor or other professional. Our partners, Skipton Trustees Limited (STL), can do this for you through their Estate and Trust service (administered by abrdn Financial Planning and Advice Ltd). You can call our Bereavement team on 0345 266 1209 who can refer you to STL.

If you live in Scotland, you would have to apply for a Certificate of Confirmation. To find out more, please visit the Scottish government website.

Yes, if there are enough funds in the account we can release funds to pay towards funeral expenses once the death has been registered with us. We'll need the invoice from the funeral directors so we can issue an electronic payment or cheque, made payable to the funeral company.

Subject to the balance held with Skipton, we can also release any amount that's on an HMRC inheritance tax calculation form, even if this means closing the account. This is called 'withdrawal before probate' and you will need to complete the form below.

• Withdrawal Before Probate form

Please complete the form and take this document to your nearest branch or post it to:

If the person who has died had less than £30,000 with Skipton we may be able to close the account(s) without a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (Certificate of Confirmation in Scotland). In all cases, there must be no assets held elsewhere that require GOP or Letters of Administration. If you have or will need to obtain a Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration, or Certificate of Confirmation, we’ll need to see it regardless of the balance(s) in the account(s).

Balance of £1,000 or less

If the balance is £1,000 or less, we can accept a Letter of Indemnity, as long as the beneficiaries are the ones solely entitled to the funds held with us and are the spouse, civil partner, child or parent of the deceased. If you're a beneficiary we can accept a Statutory Declaration form witnessed by a solicitor or commissioner for oaths, or justice of the peace.

• Letter of Indemnity form (£1,000 or less)
• Statutory Declaration form

Balance between £1,001 to £4,999

If the balance is between £1,001 and £4,999, we can accept a Statutory Declaration form that has been completed by the beneficiaries in the presence of a solicitor, commissioner for oaths or justice of the peace and signed by the executor(s), as long as the beneficiaries are the ones solely entitled to the funds held with us.

• Statutory Declaration form

Balance between £5,000 to £30,000

If the balance is between £5,000 and £30,000, we can accept a Letter of Indemnity, as long as the beneficiaries are the ones solely entitled to the funds held with us and are the spouse, civil partner, child or parent of the person who has died. This must be provided along with a Statutory Declaration form that has been completed by the beneficiaries in the presence of a solicitor, commissioner for oaths, or justice of the peace and signed by the executor(s).

• Letter of Indemnity (£5,000 to £30,000)
• Statutory Declaration form

In all cases, if you don't have a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration (or Certificate of Confirmation in Scotland), we'll also need you to complete our Account Closure - For deceased estates form.

Beneficiaries will need to provide identification along with the above documents unless they are already Skipton customers. See our Proving your identity leaflet to see what you'll need.

If a savings account is held in joint names, it automatically passes to the other account holder(s) (in accordance with our Savings Account Terms and Conditions). If you’re not the other account holder, you’ll need to let us know why you need the information, then we can check what information we’re able to give you, if any.

If the person who has died was a trustee on an account, we can’t release any information because Trust Accounts don’t form part of their estate. If there are other trustees, we’ll get in touch with them. If there aren’t, the executor may need to seek legal advice about appointing a replacement.

If you're the beneficiary, you can’t transfer accounts into your name, but in some circumstances you may be able to close the accounts and transfer the money into a new account of your choosing. Membership rights of the person who has died will not transfer to you – you’d become a Skipton member in your own right.

If the person who died had a cash ISA, the funds are permitted to be within the ISA wrapper and will continue to earn tax-free interest until the first of the following occurs:

• administration of the estate is complete
• the ISA is closed
• three years after the date of death.

If the person that has died was your spouse or civil partner, you can benefit from the tax-free entitlement they have built up in ISAs, this is called an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) scheme. You can find out more on our Addition Permitted Subscriptions page.

If the person who has died had a Fixed Rate Bond in their sole name, you can close it early and get paid the interest that’s built up. Or if you prefer, you can keep it open until it reaches the end of its fixed term. If you keep it open, the account has to be left in their name. However, the title of the account will change to ‘personal representative of (name)’, and you won’t be able to withdraw money (including interest) from the balance until the fixed term ends, except for the purposes of settling inheritance tax, funeral or probate costs.

If the account was held in joint names it automatically passes to the other account holder and it will stay in the bond until it reaches the end of its fixed term.

It's really important to remember that the monthly payments will still need to be paid, to make sure the account doesn't fall into arrears. We understand the difficulties this may cause, so if you think you're unable to make these payments then contact our team on 0345 850 1766 to explore your options. It is also important to make sure any buildings insurance is kept in place for the property.

If the mortgage was only in the name of the person who has died, they’re known as the sole borrower. This means the mortgage is a debt of their estate and must be repaid in full. The money to do this usually comes from a life policy, the estate, or from selling the property.

We can’t release full information about the mortgage to you until we’ve seen the original Grant of Probate (if there was a will) or Letters of Administration (if there wasn't a will) or Certificate of Confirmation (Scotland).

However, we can let you know the balance and monthly payment amount so you can seek Probate and continue to make the mortgage payments. To get this information (which will be sent to the mortgaged address) you’ll need to show us the original death certificate, the original coroner’s interim certificate or a solicitor’s death certificate verification form.

We can’t transfer the mortgage to anyone else. If you’re a beneficiary, you or someone else can apply for a new mortgage for the property, but we can’t guarantee to accept the application, which would be subject to our affordability and lending criteria.

If the mortgage was in the name of the person who has died with one or more other people, they are known as a joint borrower. There are two ways joint property can be held (joint tenants or tenants in common), and what happens to the property differs for each.

If you're the joint borrower and you're unsure how the property was held, we'll be able to let you know what is indicated in our records. If you need any advice about how the property was held, you will need to seek legal advice.

Joint tenants

The name of the person who has died will be taken off the mortgage and their share of the property will transfer to the other joint borrower. Unless the person who died was bankrupt, in which case their share passes to the trustee in bankruptcy.

You don’t need a Grant of Probate for this to happen – just the death certificate, which you should also register at the Land Registry to remove the person who has died from the property title.

Tenants in common

The share of the property belonging to the person who has died won’t transfer automatically to the other joint borrower(s). Instead, it will pass according to the instructions they left in their Will. If there is no Will, the property will be passed on according to the rules of intestacy (rules that come into effect when someone dies without leaving a Will).

To make a claim on any life assurance policies, you’ll need to get in touch with the policy provider. If the policy is linked to a Skipton mortgage, we’ll deal with the claim once you have a Grant of Probate (if there was a Will) or Letters of Administration (if there wasn't a Will) or Certificate of Confirmation (Scotland). We’ll then use the proceeds to reduce or repay the mortgage account.

If a policy is held through Skipton and it is in the sole name of the person who’s died, it will stop. For joint policies held through Skipton, we’ll let you know what the next steps are. If the mortgage payment protection insurance is not with Skipton, please contact the provider for next steps.

It’s really important you make sure the property’s protected until the mortgage is repaid. If the building insurance policy is only in the name of the person who has died, you need to transfer it to the names of the personal representatives to ensure the cover continues. If the buildings insurance is with Skipton, we can help you with the next steps once we've registered the death.

If this insurance isn’t with us, you’ll need to contact the provider directly. Please remember that if the property is empty for more than 30 days, most buildings insurance will lapse. You might need a solicitor or a specialist broker to help you set up a policy that’s suitable for empty properties.