Does a bank account go to the next of kin when someone passes away? (UK)

30 September 2026 · Inherit Vault

When someone passes away with money in their own name, the bank doesn't pay it to their next of kin. It pays whoever has the legal right to deal with their estate. That's often a close relative. It isn't always the one the family expects.

A UK bank account has no named beneficiary

A sole bank account in the UK doesn't come with a "pay on death" name, the way some accounts abroad do. We've explained why UK banks don't offer that. So the money in the account becomes part of the estate. The bank then waits for the right person to claim it.

Who the right person is

If there's a will, it's the executors named in it. GOV.UK says the executors named in the will can apply for probate. If there's no will, the closest living relative can apply to be the administrator. GOV.UK says that's normally the husband, wife or civil partner. That includes one they were separated from but never divorced. Next come any children aged 18 or over.

Next of kin isn't the test

The word "next of kin" gets used a lot, in hospitals and on forms. But who inherits when there's no will comes from a fixed order in the law. In England and Wales it's section 46 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925. The bank follows the estate, and the estate follows that order.

If there's a husband, wife or civil partner

If there are no children, the husband, wife or civil partner inherits the whole estate. If there are children, it gets split. The partner takes the personal belongings. They also get a fixed sum, which has been £322,000 since 26 July 2023.* Anything above that is split in half. The partner gets one half, and the children share the other.

There's one rule people rarely hear about. If the partner outlives them but passes away within 28 days, the law treats them as not having survived. The estate then goes down the list as if there were no partner.

If there's no husband, wife or civil partner

The children share everything. If there are no children, it goes to the parents. After parents come brothers and sisters, then half brothers and sisters. After that come grandparents, then uncles and aunts. If there's nobody at all, the estate goes to the Crown. That's called bona vacantia. GOV.UK has a page where relatives can check the unclaimed list and make a claim.

Step-children and partners are left out

GOV.UK says step-children can't apply unless they were legally adopted. It also says you can't apply if you were the person's partner but weren't married or in a civil partnership. That's true however long you lived together. A partner can still ask a court for a share under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. They need to have lived with them in the same household for the whole two years before they passed away. The claim should be made within six months of the grant. We've written more on what cohabiting partners can and can't inherit.

Joint accounts are the exception

Money in a joint account doesn't wait for any of this. GOV.UK says money owned with others passes to the surviving owners, unless they've agreed otherwise. So a joint account usually goes straight to the other holder. There's more in our post on joint bank accounts.

What the bank will actually ask

Every bank has its own rules on how much it'll release without probate. GOV.UK says to ask each bank before you apply. Under a bank's own limit, it may pay out on its own forms. Over it, the bank will want to see a grant of probate, or letters of administration if there was no will. Either way, it pays the person with the legal right to the estate. Those people then share it out in line with the will, or the order above. You can find each bank's bereavement contacts in our banks list, such as Lloyds Bank. The probate service page has the government contacts.

Scotland and Northern Ireland are different

Everything above is for England and Wales. GOV.UK points out that Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own probate rules. If they lived there, check those rules first. Our guide to what happens when there's no will has more on how it all fits together.

None of this is the bank being awkward. It just follows the paperwork. A will that names who you want, and a note of where your accounts are, saves your family from guessing. Inherit Vault gives you one calm place to write that down, so the right people can find it.

*Correct at the time of writing, 29 September 2026. These can change, so check with the organisation before you rely on them.

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