What happens when you die
Practical answers about money after death: bank and joint accounts, pensions, ISAs and savings, what passes under your will and what passes outside it.
Reviewed by the Estate Advisory Group editorial teamLegally reviewed: 13 August 2026Last updated: 13 August 2026
- What Happens to My Bank Account When I Die?How banks freeze accounts on death, when a grant of probate is needed, and how the money is eventually released.
- What Happens to a Joint Bank Account When Someone Dies?How survivorship works on joint accounts, what evidence banks ask for, and why the money can still matter for inheritance tax.
- What Happens to My Pension When I Die?Why pensions usually fall outside a will, how expression of wish forms work, and what happens to different types of pension.
- What Happens to My ISA When I Die?How ISAs are dealt with after death, what the additional permitted subscription is, and how it works for spouses and civil partners.
- What Happens to My Savings When I Die?How savings accounts, NS&I products and Premium Bonds are frozen, valued and released after a death.
- Who Pays My Debts When I Die?Your debts are paid from your estate before anyone inherits, in a fixed statutory order.
- What Happens to Credit Card Debt When You Die?Credit card debt is paid from your estate, not usually by family members personally.
- What Happens to a Loan When You Die?Loans are paid from the estate, but joint loans and guarantees can make others personally liable.
- What Is Probate?Probate is the legal process of proving a will and administering an estate.
- How Long Does Probate Take?Probate typically takes several months, longer for larger or contested estates.
- Telling Banks Someone Has DiedBanks need a death certificate and, above their own threshold, a grant of probate.
- Estate Accounts ExplainedEstate accounts record all money in and out of the estate during administration.
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Other guidance
- Make a willEverything you need to make a will in England and Wales: what a will does, what it costs, whether you can write your own and what makes it legally valid.
- Signing and witnessingHow to sign and witness a will correctly in England and Wales, who can act as a witness and the mistakes that stop a will taking effect.
- Executors and beneficiariesChoosing executors, naming beneficiaries, leaving property, money and possessions, and what happens to a gift if a beneficiary dies before you.
- Wills and familyWills for parents, married and unmarried couples, mirror wills, guardians, and how marriage, divorce and separation affect an existing will.
- Will guidesWhat happens if you die without a will, the intestacy rules, when to update a will, how to change one and whether you need a solicitor.
- Inheritance and giftsWho you can leave your estate to, leaving everything to one person, unequal shares between children, grandchildren, friends and the age children inherit.
- Property and willsWhat happens to a home when you die: joint tenants and tenants in common, leaving your share, mortgages, and whether an unmarried partner inherits.
- Tax and estatesInheritance tax and wills explained: the nil rate band, residence nil rate band, spouse and charity exemptions, gifts and who pays the tax.
- Digital assetsWhat happens to your phone, email, social media, photos, online accounts and cryptocurrency when you die, and how to cover them in your will.
- Pets and willsWhat happens to your pet when you die, how to include a pet in your will, leaving money for their care and gifts to animal charities.
- Business ownersMaking a will if you own a business: company shares, sole trader businesses, partnership interests and what happens when an owner dies.
- Life eventsWhen to make or update a will: buying a home, moving in together, marriage, a new baby, travelling abroad, retirement and later life.
- Online willsMaking a will online in England and Wales: what it costs, fixed fee will writing, online versus DIY wills, and how quickly you can get one done.
- Gifts and wishesLeaving jewellery, cars, heirlooms and cash gifts in a will, giving different gifts to different people, and recording funeral and cremation wishes.
- Blended familiesWills for second marriages and blended families: stepchildren, children from a previous relationship, grandchildren and protecting a partner and children together.
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