How to Notify Bestinvest After a Death in the UK

How to Notify Bestinvest After a Death in the UK

If someone held investments with Bestinvest and has died, you can usually tell the firm about the death before the estate is fully sorted. But Bestinvest may need different documents depending on whether there is a will, how large the portfolio is, and whether the assets sit in an ISA, pension or general investment account.

The most useful mindset is this: first notify, then classify. As soon as Bestinvest knows about the death, the next task is working out what type of account the person held and what authority the family or executor needs for each one.

Start by telling Bestinvest about the death

Bestinvest’s public support guidance says you can contact it by phone, email or webchat, and that bereavement cases are handled by getting in touch directly with the firm.

Before you call or email, gather:

• the person’s full name, address and account details if available
• your relationship to them
• a certified copy of the death certificate
• a copy of the will, if one exists
• your own ID and contact details
• any early information on whether probate has already been applied for

Even if you do not yet have every document, making the first contact early is still useful because it tells you exactly what Bestinvest expects for that estate.

What documents Bestinvest may ask for

Bestinvest’s support page says it may ask for:

• a certified copy of the death certificate
• a certified copy of the will, where there is one
• letters of administration if there is no will and someone needs authority to act
• a grant of probate, depending on the size and structure of the portfolio

It also makes the important point that a power of attorney ends when the account holder dies. That means someone who previously helped with the person’s finances during life cannot assume that authority continues after death.

Why account type matters so much

With an investment platform, “the account” is often not one simple pot of money. A person might have:

• a Stocks and Shares ISA
• a general investment account
• a pension or SIPP
• cash waiting to be invested

Each of those can follow a different post-death route.

Account type	What usually matters after death	Why it changes the task
Stocks and Shares ISA	Estate handling plus possible APS for a spouse or civil partner	The tax wrapper has special rules after death
General investment account	Valuation, sale or transfer under estate authority	Probate requirements may depend on value and ownership
Pension or SIPP	Beneficiary nomination and provider rules	Pension death benefits often follow a separate beneficiary process
Cash balance	Release of funds under estate authority	Still usually tied to the wider probate position

That is why the best question to ask Bestinvest is not only “how do I close the account?” but also “what exact products were held, and what is the route for each one?”

Bestinvest ISAs after death

Bestinvest’s ISA guidance explains a point many families miss: an ISA does not always lose its tax treatment immediately on death.

Instead, the ISA can continue as a continuing ISA until the earliest of:

• the account being closed by the executor
• the estate administration being completed
• three years and one day after the date of death

No new contributions can be made after death, but income and gains may continue to be sheltered inside the ISA during that period.

For surviving spouses and civil partners, the other key term is Additional Permitted Subscription (APS). This is an extra ISA allowance linked to the value of the deceased person’s ISA. It does not mean the spouse inherits the original ISA wrapper intact, but it can preserve some tax efficiency when the estate is being reorganised.

When probate might be needed

Bestinvest’s public wording is cautious: probate may be required depending on the portfolio size. That usually means you should not assume a death certificate alone will be enough to complete the whole process.

A sensible approach is to ask Bestinvest these four questions early:

1. What accounts did the person hold?
2. What is the current valuation of each account?
3. Can you note the death now while documents are being gathered?
4. What is the minimum authority needed for sale, transfer or closure in this case?

That gives the executor or administrator a clearer plan and avoids wasting time chasing the wrong paperwork.

A practical checklist for dealing with Bestinvest after a death

1. Notify Bestinvest as soon as you can by phone or email.
2. Request a valuation of all accounts held with the firm.
3. Ask for the document list specific to that estate rather than relying on a generic probate checklist.
4. Separate the accounts by type: ISA, pension, general investment account, cash.
5. Check whether a spouse or civil partner may be able to use APS for the ISA.
6. Do not rely on an old power of attorney. Authority after death comes from the estate process, not the old LPA.
7. Keep records of every instruction about sales, transfers and beneficiary forms.

If the person also held other savings or investments elsewhere, it can help to read this alongside our guide to what happens to ISAs and investments when someone dies in the UK and our plain-English article on probate.

Common questions

Can I notify Bestinvest before probate is granted?

Usually yes. Notification and information gathering can start early, even if probate is still in progress.

Does a power of attorney still work after death?

No. Bestinvest’s guidance is clear that power of attorney stops when the account holder dies.

Does a spouse inherit the ISA itself?

Not exactly. The deceased person’s ISA becomes part of the estate, but a surviving spouse or civil partner may be able to claim an Additional Permitted Subscription based on its value.

The bottom line

When dealing with Bestinvest after a death, the important move is to split the job by account type and authority level. That is what turns a vague bereavement task into a manageable sequence.

If you are trying to track investment paperwork alongside banks, utilities and government tasks, GetPassage can help you keep the estate admin organised without adding more noise at a time you are already overloaded.