"My mate has only just started the probate process (as he didn't think it was urgent) but he already has had the pension account dealt with and paid into his own personal account, just on production of a (copy maybe) death certificate. He was surprised how easy it was to get the money (yes he would have had to provide ID etc but nevertheless...)"
From recent experience, I know that different banks have their own level after which a probate certificate is required. For most (e.g. Lloyd's and Nationwide) it is £50k; for smaller organisations (e.g. Hinckley & Rugby B Soc), it is £15k.
For less than the above amounts, photo ID + an official (i.e. embossed) copy of the death certificate is required - a photocopy of a death certificate will not do. As far as I can see, fraud would be difficult to organise unless you stole the ID and death certificate, and you looked a bit like the bloke in the photo.
A straightforward online probate application is currently taking 8 weeks - or, at least, it was 2 months ago.
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