Fidelity's bereavement process
Making difficult times a little easier
Losing someone close to you can be very difficult. And, if you’re responsible for handling their estate and carrying out their wishes, it can also be confusing and stressful.
We hope this page will make the process of dealing with any investments held with Fidelity that bit smoother. You can also download this information as a PDF.
If you'd like to start the process online now, please let us know by notifying us of the bereavement.
Please note, if you have uploaded a death certificate, please note it can take up to 24 hours to reflect as accepted on the portal.
What to do when an investor dies
Working out what to do when a relative or someone close to you dies can be overwhelming. However, when it comes to dealing with investments or pensions held with Fidelity, there are just three things you need to think about:
1. Let us know
2. Obtain probate
3. Distribute the assets
1. How to let us know
You'll need to send us an original or a certified death certificate.
This can be sent either via post to our address below, or uploaded online by first using the 'notify us of a bereavement' button below to notify us of a clients passing, create an account and a bereavement portal. You'll then be given the option of uploading documents to us
To call us: 0800 41 41 16.
To write to us: Fidelity International, PO Box 391, Tadworth, KT20 9FU.
What we’ll do next
- Put a hold on the account, stop any dealing and reinvest any income generated by the investments
- Stop any regular savings or withdrawal plans. Please keep in mind that contributions made after the date of death will be returned as they cannot be accepted. This can happen if an investor dies before their contribution is processed.
- Register you as the primary point of contact for the estate so that you receive all communications and can notify other parties accordingly
- Remove the investor’s name from any joint accounts they held
- Produce a valuation of the investor’s account on the day they died – you may need this for Inheritance Tax purposes or when applying for a grant of representation
What you need to do next
- Contact us again when you have the grant of representation or a completed Small Estates Form.
FAQs about how to let us know
There’s a time limit for using allowances on some investments. Take ISAs for example, the tax-wrapper is removed three years from the date the account holder has died.
Three years might sound lengthy, but the bereavement process could take months (or even years), from beginning to end. Particularly if the case is complex or Grant of Probate is needed.
If this is relevant to your case, we’ll talk to you about it once you’ve started the process.
A grant of representation is the general term for a legal document that shows you can deal with the estate of someone who has died. If you’re named on the person’s Will as an executor, you will normally apply to the Courts for a Grant of Probate (or Certificate of Confirmation in Scotland). If there is no Will, someone (usually next of kin) must apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration instead. Just to confuse matters, the whole process is often referred to as ‘Probate’.
You can send us original or certified copies of the death certificate or the grant of representation. Our certification requirements are detailed on our guide. If you send us any original documents, we will send them back to you as soon as possible.
We will continue to charge a Service Fee and a Fidelity Advisor Solutions fee for the administration of the account until the assets are distributed and the account is closed. However, if there is a financial adviser linked to the account, any regular fees to them will stop when we receive notification of a clients passing.
Our pension trustees are responsible for deciding who benefits from the pension. They will write to you and tell you what additional information they need, such as details of trusts set up by the deceased, full names of any financial dependents, and copies of birth/marriage certificates.
If the person who died was the registered contact for a Junior ISA, we will send you a form that allows someone else to take over that role.
2. How to obtain probate
You'll need to send us a sealed copy of the Grant of Representation signed by each of the executors. Because of the legal language used, this is the part many people find daunting. However, it’s very important – without it, we cannot distribute any assets in line with the instructions in the Will.
The Grant of Representation can be either posted or uploaded online, along with one of our closure forms in section 3. We should then be able to close the account as instructed.
How to apply for probate
You can do this yourself (or ask a solicitor) by applying to your local probate registry or sheriff court. It usually takes around two months to obtain a grant of representation but complex cases can take a year or more.
Applying for probate can be complicated. Guidance and support is available at gov.uk/applying-for-probate
Small estates
We can release money from the estate if you’re not applying for probate, if:
- the total value of the estate is less than the nil-band rate for Inheritance Tax,
- the total value of Fidelity investments in the estate is less than £50,000, and
- the person who died left a Will.
You will need to send us:
- a Small Estates form - which must be signed and witnessed,
- a completed form to sell or transfer the investments (see Distributing the assets lower down on this page), and
- the original or certified copy of the Will.
If you're ready to start the bereavement process now, you can notify us online.
FAQs about probate
If the investor was a child, we will send out a JISA Bereavement form upon receipt of the death certificate to return the value of the investments back to the registered contact
When we receive the death certificate, we will remove the deceased investor’s name from any joint account. No grant of representation is required - the account(s) will continue to operate as before.
We can’t usually distribute any assets until we receive a court-sealed grant of representation. However, we can release monies directly to HM Revenue and Customs for Inheritance Tax, or to a funeral director (if you send us the invoice). Send us a completed Declaration and Indemnity Form, together with a certified copy of the Will.
Although the assets can’t usually be touched, they will remain invested – which means the value could go down in value as well as up. If you’re worried about a possible loss in value, stocks and shares ISAs and general investments (but not pensions) can be switched to cash.
You’ll need to send us a completed Declaration and Indemnity Form, plus the original or certified copy of the Will.
If they were living in certain current or former Commonwealth countries, it's possible to have the foreign grant of representation 're-sealed' by a UK probate registry (or sheriff court) for use here. For all other countries or dependencies (including Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands), a fresh application to the probate registry will be required.
3. How to distribute the assets
This is the point when beneficiaries decide whether they’d like us to invest the money into a new account, transfer the investments into a new name, or sell them and send them the cash. There are forms to complete, potentially tax to pay, and different rules depending on the type of account.
What you need to do
Read the options below to decide what you want to do with the investments. Once you have downloaded the relevant forms, complete them and send them to us along with the grant of representation or Small Estates Form. To enable us to complete our identity verification checks, please ensure the Executor’s date of birth is provided where requested. We may need to contact you if you don’t provide the Executor’s date of birth where requested which may cause delays to your application.
Please note that each of these forms can be posted or uploaded via our online Bereavement Portal. Use the 'return to where you left' button at the top of this page to log back in and begin uploading the documents.
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Sell the investments |
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Move assets to an investment account |
Moving assets to an Investment Account on the death of a Fidelity investor |
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Inherited ISA Allowance |
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Inherited ISA transfer application |
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Sell your own Investment Account to use your inherited ISA allowance |
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Payment forms for exceptions and small amounts |
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For any of the above instructions, where a company is acting professionally as a corporate executor, we must be provided with a company signatories list, and at least two signatories must sign the instruction. |
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For pension accounts
- Workplace Pension Documents - checklist, important information and forms
- Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) Documents - checklist, important information and forms
- Financial Dependency Confirmation Form
What we’ll do next
- Complete our identity verification checks
- Carry out your instructions, and keep you informed by letter
- Send you confirmation of each sale or transfer, plus a closing statement
- If you’ve asked us to sell the investments, we’ll pay the money to you, so you can pass it on to the beneficiary
FAQs about distributing assets
The spouse or civil partner of someone who has died on or after 3 December 2014 can inherit that person’s ISA tax benefits. This is on top of their own personal ISA allowance.
- If the investor died between 3 December 2014 and 5 April 2018, the allowance equals the value of the ISA on the date of death
- If the investor died on or after 6 April 2018, the allowance equals the value of the ISA on the date of death or the value on the date the account closes – whichever is higher
The increased ISA allowance can be used for up to 180 days after the administration of the estate is complete.
As the executor or administrator, you’ll need to complete an Inherited ISA Transfer Form and send it to us.
There are situations when Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax may be due. We can give you the figures you need to help calculate how much you might owe, but we can’t offer tax advice. It’s best to talk to a tax expert.
We don’t charge for selling or transferring accounts - but there may be charges for dealing in certain types of investments.
If there are deals in progress, we'll transfer what we can and move any remaining investments when the deals have completed. If we receive any income (such as dividends or interest) from investments that have been sold or transferred after the account has been closed, we’ll follow the original instruction and pay out or transfer to the beneficiary’s account. This will happen at least six months after the account is closed.
In most cases, no. But if the Will mentions a trust, call our specialist trust team on 0800 41 41 16 and they’ll do their best to help.
Extra help and support
More Fidelity help and support
Don't see an answer to your question here? We have many more helpful FAQs to help you understand the bereavement process.
See our other bereavement FAQs
Other helpful links
Citizens Advice Bureau – adviceguide.org.uk
The Money Advice Service - moneyadviceservice.org.uk
Bereavement Advice Centre – bereavementadvice.org
Government sites – gov.uk or Scotland.gov.uk
Cruse Bereavement Care – cruse.org.uk
Contacting Fidelity
Call our dedicated bereavement team on 0800 41 41 16 - we’re open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm.
Fidelity International
PO Box 391
Tadworth
KT20 9FU
Bereavement terms explained
Asset/Distribution of assets
Things or property that a person owns, such as money, land, or possessions. Distribution of assets means dividing and giving these assets to the rightful people according to the person's wishes or legal requirements.
Authority to act
The legal power or permission given to someone to take certain actions or make decisions on behalf of the person who has died. It can be granted through various legal documents, such as Grant of Probate or a will.
Beneficiary
A beneficiary is a person or entity who is designated to receive assets or benefits from a will, trust, or insurance policy after the death of the person who owns those assets.
Death certificate
An official document issued by the government that certifies the death of a person. It typically includes details such as the date, time, and cause of death.
Estate
The total assets, property, and debts that a person leaves behind after their death.
Executor
A person named in a will who is responsible for carrying out the instructions and wishes stated in the will after the person's death. They handle tasks such as distributing assets, paying debts, and filing tax returns.
Grant of Probate
A legal document issued by a court that confirms the validity of a deceased person's will and grants the executor the authority to administer the estate.
Inheritance Tax
A tax imposed on the value of money and property inherited by an individual from a deceased person's estate. The tax amount depends on the value of the inheritance and the relationship between the deceased and the beneficiary.
Intestacy
The situation when a person dies without leaving a valid will. In such cases, the distribution of the person's assets is determined by the laws of intestacy.
Small estates form
A small estates form is a simplified legal document used to settle the estate of a deceased person when the total value of their assets falls below £50,000. It allows for a quicker and less complicated process of transferring assets to the beneficiaries.
Trustee
A person or entity appointed to manage and administer a trust. They are responsible for protecting and distributing the assets held in the trust according to the terms and instructions set out in the trust document.
Will
A legal document that outlines a person's wishes regarding the distribution of their assets and the care of their dependents after their death. It names an executor to carry out these wishes and may also include other instructions, such as funeral arrangements or guardianship of minor children.
