Fidelity's bereavement process

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 a death certificate or grant of representation.

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.

If the investor was a child, it’s likely that we’ll be able to accept a Small Estates Form and pass on the value of the investments to the beneficiary.

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.

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.