Deceased estate bank accounts

Updated 20 August 2026 · 8 minute read

When a bank learns a customer has died, it freezes their sole accounts and opens a deceased-estate file. What happens next depends on one number: the bank's release threshold — the balance below which it will pay out without a grant of probate. Each bank sets its own. Here they all are, as at August 2026.

Release thresholds by bank

Full per-bank guides — documents, contacts, quirks — are in the bank-by-bank section (including HSBC at $50,000 and People First Bank at just $20,000). Notes: the big four now all sit at $100,000 for solely-held balances — and every bank reserves the right to require probate below its threshold in unusual situations. Bendigo pays balances under $15,000 directly to the personal representative's own account.

What banks want below the threshold

• Certified copy of the death certificate (BDM-issued — not the funeral director's interim certificate)
• Certified copy of the will (or proof of next of kin if there's no will)
• Certified ID for the executor(s) or next of kin
• The bank's own release/indemnity form — each bank has its own name for it

Above the threshold, the bank waits for the grant. That's the trigger that sends most families to a probate application.

Shares are much stricter

Share registries set far lower thresholds per holding: Computershare $25,000 (Small Estate Indemnity route) and MUFG Corporate Markets (ex-Link) $15,000, though some listed companies elect higher limits. Substantial share portfolios are one of the most common reasons an otherwise-simple estate needs probate.