Shares and investments when someone dies: probate, valuation and the quarter-up rule

Last updated 3 September 2026

Reviewed by the After Loss Guide editorial team · updated 3 September 2026

Researched from primary sources. See our editorial policy.

Shares and other investments – whether held as paper certificates, in a nominee account with a platform such as Hargreaves Lansdown or AJ Bell, or in an old-fashioned share certificate from a company like BT or National Grid – do not disappear or transfer automatically when someone dies. They form part of the estate, and in nearly every case an executor needs a grant of probate before doing anything with them.

This guide covers what happens to shares and general investment accounts after a death in the UK – separate from ISAs and pensions, which have their own tax rules covered elsewhere on this site. It walks through how shares are valued for probate, whether you need probate at all, the paperwork involved in transferring or selling shares, what happens on a broker platform, and the tax that can arise along the way.

The short answer

Shares and investments held outside an ISA or pension become part of the deceased’s estate on death. To access, sell or transfer them, the executor (or administrator, if there’s no will) will almost always need a grant of probate or letters of administration first – the registrar or investment platform will not act without it, except sometimes for very small holdings.

Before probate can be applied for, the shares need to be valued as at the date of death, for Inheritance Tax purposes. Listed shares (those traded on a recognised stock exchange, such as the London Stock Exchange or AIM) are valued using HMRC’s “quarter-up” rule, not the closing price. Unlisted shares in a private company are valued differently, usually with professional help.

Once probate is granted, the executor can either sell the shares and distribute cash to beneficiaries, or transfer them directly (known as a transfer “in specie” or re-registration) so a beneficiary receives the shares themselves. Beneficiaries who inherit shares directly take them on at their date-of-death value for any future Capital Gains Tax calculation – there’s no tax simply for inheriting them.

If the shares are held with a broker or investment platform rather than as paper certificates, the platform’s own bereavement team handles the process once probate is produced, and each provider has its own forms and timescales.

How shares are valued after a death

Before anything else can happen, someone needs a value for the shares as at the date of death. This feeds into the estate’s total value for Inheritance Tax, and it also sets the “base cost” that will matter later if the shares are sold at a gain.

Listed shares: the quarter-up rule

For shares listed on a recognised stock exchange (the London Stock Exchange main market, or AIM), HMRC does not use the closing price on the date of death. Instead, financial data for that day gives two prices – the lower and higher of the day’s quoted range. The valuation method is:

  1. Take the lower of the two quoted prices
  2. Work out the difference between the two prices
  3. Add a quarter of that difference to the lower price

For example, if a share is quoted between 200p and 210p on the date of death, the difference is 10p. A quarter of that is 2.5p, so the value used is 200p + 2.5p = 202.5p per share.

AIM shares and business property relief

AIM is a recognised stock exchange, so AIM shares are valued using the quarter-up rule above. For Inheritance Tax purposes, though, they are designated as “not listed”, and qualifying AIM holdings can attract business property relief – which reduces the value charged to tax.

The rate changed recently. For deaths on or after 6 April 2026, qualifying AIM shares receive 50% relief rather than the 100% that applied to earlier deaths, giving an effective IHT rate of 20% on their value. The £2.5 million combined allowance introduced at the same time does not apply to AIM shares: they neither use it up nor benefit from it. The change was enacted by the Finance Act 2026 (c. 11), Schedule 12.

The date of death is what determines the rate, not the date the estate is administered. Relief is not automatic – the shares must have been held for at least two years, the company must be mainly trading rather than investment, and the executor has to claim it on form IHT413. Our business property relief guide covers the qualifying conditions and how to claim in full.

Share-valuing services can provide this end-of-day quotation for a specific date. Multiply the quarter-up price by the number of shares held to get the total value for that holding. If a dividend was due at the date of death (shown by a marking such as “xd” next to the quoted price), that also needs to be valued and added to the estate.

Source: valuation method confirmed by Hughes Solicitors – Valuing stocks and shares after someone dies and cross-checked against The Probate Network – How to transfer shares after the death of a shareholder, last verified September 2026.

Shares in a fund, unit trust or ISA wrapper

For units in a unit trust, an open-ended investment company (OEIC), or shares held inside an ISA, there’s no published two-way price in the same way – the valuation has to come directly from the fund manager or ISA provider for the date of death. If the shares sit inside an ISA, see our separate guide to what happens to an ISA when someone dies for how the ISA tax wrapper itself is treated.

Unlisted or private company shares

Shares in a private limited company are more complex to value, because there’s no public market price to refer to. A professional valuation is normally needed, and the company’s own Articles of Association or a Shareholders’ Agreement can affect who the shares can pass to and how – sometimes overriding what a will says, since company law and the company’s own documents take precedence over a will where the two conflict. If the deceased ran or held shares in a business, see our guide to what happens to a business when someone dies for how sole trader and limited company situations differ.

Do you need probate to deal with shares?

In the great majority of cases, yes. Whether the shares are certificated (paper certificates registered directly with the company) or held in a nominee account through an investment platform, the registrar or platform will not release, sell or transfer them to anyone else until it has seen a grant of probate (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or confirmation (Scotland).

This is the same principle that applies to most other estate assets: see our guide to do you need probate if you’re unsure whether the estate as a whole requires it, and grant of probate vs letters of administration if there’s no will.

With a will and shares left to a named beneficiary

If the will names a specific person to receive particular shares, the executor still needs to obtain the grant of probate first. The shares are then transferred to that beneficiary once probate is in hand – the will does not bypass the need for probate itself, it simply determines who receives the shares once the process is complete.

Without a will (intestacy)

If the person died without a will, the shares pass according to the rules of intestacy, administered by whoever obtains letters of administration. See our guide to intestacy rules for who inherits in this situation. The process for dealing with the shares themselves – valuation, registrar contact, transfer or sale – is the same regardless of whether there’s a will.

Very small holdings

Some registrars and platforms will release a small-value holding without a full grant of probate, instead asking the next of kin to sign an indemnity form accepting responsibility if a dispute arises later. There is no single threshold across the industry – it varies by registrar and by platform, so the only reliable way to find out is to ask the specific registrar or platform directly.

Certificated shares: the registrar process

For shares held as paper share certificates rather than through a platform, the executor deals directly with the company’s share registrar – commonly Equiniti, Computershare, or MUFG Corporate Markets (formerly Link Group). The process typically runs:

  1. Write to the registrar with the original death certificate (or a certified copy) and a covering letter identifying the deceased shareholder by the full name and address shown on the certificate
  2. The registrar sends a bereavement claim form setting out exactly what it needs
  3. Provide the grant of probate (original or certified copy), a completed stock transfer form (form J30) if transferring to a beneficiary, or a sale instruction if selling, and the original share certificates, which are cancelled and reissued or replaced

Processing typically takes four to eight weeks, depending on the registrar and the complexity of the holding. If the deceased held shares in several different companies, you may be dealing with more than one registrar, each with its own paperwork and timescale.

Source: The Probate Network – How to transfer shares after the death of a shareholder, last verified September 2026.

Shares held on an investment platform

If the shares are held in a nominee account with a broker or investment platform, the platform freezes the account once notified of the death and its own bereavement team takes over from there. Every platform has its own process, forms and typical timescales, and several are covered in detail on this site, including Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Interactive Investor, Vanguard, Fidelity and Trading 212. Contact the specific platform’s bereavement team directly and ask what they need – most will confirm their probate threshold and required documents over the phone.

Transfer in specie or sell: what beneficiaries can choose

Once probate is granted, the executor has a choice for each shareholding: sell the shares and distribute the cash, or transfer them directly to a beneficiary without selling first. This direct transfer is called a transfer “in specie” (or re-registration). A beneficiary who wants to receive shares this way will generally need an investment account of their own, with a broker, ready to receive them.

There’s no stamp duty payable on shares transferred because of a death, whether the transfer is under a will or under the rules of intestacy.

Tax on shares after a death

Inheritance Tax

The value of the shares at the date of death (using the quarter-up rule for listed shares) is included in the total value of the estate for Inheritance Tax purposes, alongside other assets such as property, savings and personal possessions. See our guide to how to value an estate and the current nil-rate band for how the overall threshold works. Most estates do not pay any Inheritance Tax.

Source: gov.uk – Valuing the estate of someone who’s died, last verified September 2026.

Capital Gains Tax

There’s no Capital Gains Tax simply for inheriting shares. If a beneficiary receives shares directly (in specie) rather than cash, they inherit the shares at their date-of-death value as the “base cost” for any future gain calculation. Capital Gains Tax only becomes due later, when the shares are eventually sold, and only on the growth in value from the date of death onwards – not on any gain the deceased made during their own lifetime.

If the executor sells shares during the administration of the estate and the sale price is higher than the date-of-death value, the gain is taxed within the estate, subject to the estate’s own Capital Gains Tax annual exempt amount, which is £3,000 for the 2026/27 tax year.

Source: gov.uk – Tax when you sell shares: work out your gain and gov.uk – Capital Gains Tax allowances, last verified September 2026.

What you need to do

  1. Locate all shareholdings. Check for paper share certificates, dividend statements, and any correspondence from investment platforms. Old paper certificates are easy to overlook, especially from long-privatised utilities or former building societies.
  2. Get a date-of-death valuation. For listed shares, use the quarter-up method, or ask a share-valuing service to provide it. For funds, unit trusts or ISA holdings, ask the fund manager or ISA provider directly. For private company shares, get a professional valuation.
  3. Include the value in the estate for probate. The share valuation feeds into the overall estate value needed to apply for probate and to establish whether any Inheritance Tax is due.
  4. Apply for probate (or letters of administration). In almost all cases, this needs to happen before a registrar or platform will act.
  5. Contact each registrar or platform separately. Each company’s registrar (for certificated shares) or each investment platform (for nominee holdings) has its own bereavement process. Ask what documents they need and their current processing time.
  6. Decide whether to sell or transfer in specie. If beneficiaries want to keep the investments rather than receive cash, they will usually need their own investment account ready to receive a transfer.
  7. Keep records for Capital Gains Tax. Whoever ends up holding the shares – the estate, if sold during administration, or a beneficiary, if transferred – needs the date-of-death value on record, since it determines any future tax on a later sale.

Common questions

Can shares be transferred without probate if they’re worth very little?

Some registrars and investment platforms will release small holdings against an indemnity form rather than a full grant of probate, but there’s no fixed threshold that applies across the industry. Ask the specific registrar or platform what their limit is.

What happens to shares in a company the deceased worked for, such as an employee share scheme?

Employee share schemes (such as SAYE or SIP schemes) often have their own rules on death, sometimes allowing shares to be sold or transferred more quickly than the standard registrar process, and sometimes with different tax treatment. Check with the scheme administrator or the deceased’s former employer, since the rules vary between schemes.

Do joint shareholdings work like joint bank accounts?

If shares are held jointly, they normally pass automatically to the surviving joint holder by survivorship, in the same way a joint bank account does, without needing to go through probate for that specific holding – though this depends on how the joint holding is structured, so it’s worth confirming directly with the registrar. See our guide to what happens to a joint bank account when someone dies for how survivorship works for jointly-held assets more generally.

What if the deceased held shares in a company that no longer exists or has been taken over?

If a company has since merged, been taken over, or changed its name, the original registrar can usually still trace the holding through to whichever registrar now looks after the successor company’s share register. Start with whichever registrar is named on the most recent piece of correspondence or share certificate.

Is there a deadline for dealing with shares after a death?

There’s no fixed legal deadline for transferring or selling shares after a death, but Inheritance Tax (where due) is normally payable within six months of the end of the month of death, and interest can accrue after that – so the valuation and probate steps are worth starting promptly. See our guide to how to pay inheritance tax for the payment deadlines that can apply to the wider estate.

Sources

This guide is provided for general information and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Share valuations, Inheritance Tax and Capital Gains Tax rules can be complex, particularly for larger or mixed portfolios – speak to a solicitor, accountant or the relevant registrar or platform directly for your specific situation.