It’s worth noting that sometimes probate (or a ‘grant of representation’) isn’t required. This is usually when:
- You’re the surviving spouse or civil partner, and the estate (e.g. house or savings accounts) are held in joint names. If this is the case, the estate would automatically pass to this person without the need to apply for probate.
- If there is no land, property or shares included within the estate.
In order to gain access to any money, you would need to contact the organisation holding the money such as a bank or building society. Banks and building societies can sometimes release small funds if they are given a registrar’s death certificate.
Partners
There is a common misconception that if you live with someone for a certain period of time you are classed as a ‘common law husband/wife’ and that this has some legal standing in the unfortunate event of someone’s death.
However, this is not true. If the deceased was not married or in a civil partnership with the person they were living with and they did not make a will, the surviving partner has no automatic right to any or all of the deceased’s estate.
This does not mean that a partner who has lived with someone cannot make a claim on the deceased’s estate.
However, it arguably does make the process more difficult.
Since January 1996, you may be entitled to bring a claim to the estate as long as you had been living with the deceased at least two years before their death as husband or wife.
There are millions of unmarried couples living together in the UK, and the law does not yet recognise this.
