Bereavement Support

You can email, call or write to us to inform us that a shareholder has passed away. Please see the contact us section for details.

Please ensure that you include the shareholder's full name and registered address. It will also help if you are able to provide details of any previous addresses at which the shareholder has lived. This will help to identify all shareholdings. If you know the Shareholder Reference (usually 11 digits) it would also be helpful to include this.

Our standard response time is seven business days.

If the shares are held in joint names, we can simply re-register them in the name(s) of the surviving shareholder(s).

Please write to us at the address listed in our contact us section, with the original Death Certificate or Grant of Representation (we cannot accept Death Verification forms) and a completed Transfer of Joint Holding Form.

Please contact us if you would like us to send you a paper form.

All original documents will be returned to you by first class mail within three days of receipt. Our standard response time is five business days.

Small Estates Service

You can use the Equiniti (EQ) Small Estates Service if all the following criteria are met:

• The value of the holding(s) in each company is less than £50,000 in Mainland UK (the value comprises the shares, as well as any outstanding payments). You can find share prices online, or you may use our Share Valuation Service.
• No inheritance tax is payable on the deceased’s UK estate. Visit www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax for further guidance.
• You are the Next of Kin(s) or Executor(s) named in the will. There is a precedence in the UK for Next of Kin(s). Please visit www.gov.uk/inherits-someone-dies-without-will for more information.
• No Grant of Probate has been issued and there is no intention to obtain one.

What do I need to do next?

1. Download one of the following forms and complete it using the guidance notes:

• Shares held in the form of a paper certificate and/or electronically: EQ Small Estates Form.
• Shares held in the Save As You Earn, Sharesave and Share Incentive Plan employee schemes: EQ Small Estates Form - Employee Shares only. (If the deceased also held paper share certificates or electronically held shares, please use the EQ Small Estates Form instead. For any other employee schemes, please contact us).
• Where no shares are held but payments are outstanding, including those from a Share Forfeiture: EQ Small Estates Form - Outstanding Payments Only.

2. For the EQ Small Estates Form only:

• If you are transferring electronically held shares to the Next of Kin(s) or Executor(s), please complete and return the following form with the Small Estates Form: Small Estates Regulatory Data for Electronically held shares

3. Pay the Small Estates fees:

• Please refer to the Small Estates Form for our fees and how they can be paid. For further information on calculating our fees, please see our List of fees.

4. Once complete, return the form and any supporting documentation to us at:

• Equiniti
  Aspect House
  Spencer Road
  Lancing
  West Sussex
  BN99 6DA

• If you require any additional support, please contact us. You will need to have the following information to hand:
• • Full Name of the deceased shareholder.
  • Full address and any previous addresses for the deceased shareholder.
  • Date of death.
  • Your name and address (informant) .
  • Any known Shareholder Reference numbers (usually 11 digits).
  • All known companies in which the shares were held.

5. Once we receive the Small Estates Form and accompanying documentation, we will:

• update the holding(s) to show the details of the person(s) authorised to act on behalf of the estate;
• arrange to send any outstanding payments; and
• close the shareholding(s)/scheme(s) as requested.

You should use this service if you have been issued with any of the following documents:

• Grant of Probate.
• Letters of Administration.
• Certificate of Confirmation (Scotland).
• A Grant of Representation issued by a Commonwealth country/territory will also be accepted, as long as it has been resealed in England by the High Court of Justice.

What do I need to do next?

Please send one of these original documents to us, along with a covering letter including:

• full shareholder name;
• full shareholder address and any previous addresses;
• your name and address (informant);
• date of death;
• any known Shareholder Reference (usually 11 digits);
• any known companies in which the shares were held;
• instructions of who to make any outstanding payments to (please note that a fee may be charged for reissued payments); and
• instructions of what the Executor(s) are to do with the shares (please see the Sell, Transfer, Donate page on Shareview Help for more information).

Please make sure the letter is signed by all Executors named on the probate and return it to:

Equiniti
Aspect House
Spencer Road
Lancing
West Sussex
BN99 6DA

Original documents will be returned within five working days.