Contact banks, accounts may be frozen or transferred according to estate rules; do not withdraw funds without legal authority

Each bank's deceased estates team. The Australian Death Notification Service can notify several institutions at once.

Use the Australian Death Notification Service to notify participating banks and organisations in one submission. Contact any remaining institutions directly and ask for the deceased estates team, not a branch. Ask for the balance as at the date of death, and for a list of all accounts, cards, loans, and safe custody items. Ask what their threshold is for releasing funds without probate, and whether they will pay the funeral invoice directly.

A certified copy of the death certificate Your photo ID The will, if you are the executor The grant of probate once issued

First week or two. Sole accounts stay frozen until probate or the bank's small estate process is completed.