For more information on the financial terms used in this page, please consult the glossary.
Losing someone close to you is hard. Having to deal with the financial practicalities on top of your grief can feel overwhelming. But, we’re here to support you through this difficult time, and make it as easy as possible to deal with the M&G investments of your loved one.
If you'd like to talk to someone about what happens next, our dedicated bereavement team are on hand, simply call 0800 390 390. We're available from 08:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday, and 09:00 to 13:00 on Saturday (UK time). If you're based outside of the UK please call +44 (0)1268 448 031 (during our UK opening times).
All calls are free within the UK. For your security and to improve the quality of our service we may record and monitor telephone calls.
For queries regarding tax, you may wish to speak to a financial adviser or accountant as we are unable to offer tax advice.
When it comes to dealing with the M&G investments of your loved one, there are three main steps you’d need to take. Please see below for a short explanation of what happens at each step.
Notify us of the investor’s death
The first thing to do is tell us that an M&G investor has died, so that we can register and verify the death. You can do this by one of the following methods:
Visit My Account and click the ‘Help&Upload’ button in the lower-left corner to access the online document upload facility. Please follow the instructions to upload the death certificate using the access code: BEREAVED ensuring that you provide your full address and contact details as we'll need this information to send you a date of death valuation and details of the next steps to take.
Please call us on 0800 390 390 or +44 (0)1268 448 031 if calling from overseas, and we’ll try to verify the death electronically.
Please send us the original Death Certificate along with the following information:
Please send the original Death Certificate and covering letter to:
M&G Customer Relations
PO Box 9039
Chelmsford
CM99 2XG
Next we'll want to confirm who has legal responsibility for distributing the investor’s estate.
Depending on the overall value of the investor’s estate including those held with M&G Investments, we’ll either require a Grant of Representation or a Small Estates Form.
Where we state Grant of Representation, this should be taken to mean a Grant of Probate, Letters of Administration, a Confirmation (for Scottish residents) or equivalent documents issued in other countries which have been resealed in England.
To confirm probate, we'll need you to send us a Grant of Representation, together with a completed Executor Notification form, signed by each of the executors.
You can send us a copy of the Grant of Representation or a completed Small Estates Form electronically via our document upload facility on My Account. Call 0800 390 390 and we'll be able to discuss with you details of how to upload documents electronically.
If the investments of your loved one are £36,000 or less, and you're not applying for probate, you can complete a Small Estates Form instead.
You can apply for probate yourself, either online at www.gov.uk/applying-for-probate or ask a solicitor to apply for you. It usually takes around two months to obtain a Grant of Representation, but can take longer for complex cases.
The information you’ll require from us to apply for the Grant of Representation will include:
Inheritance Tax must be paid prior to a Grant of Representation being issued. We're not able to send proceeds from the investments of your loved one directly to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) or to anyone dealing with the estate before we've received the Grant of Representation.
The final step is where the beneficiaries decide what they want to do with the investments they’ve inherited. They have the option to invest into a new account, transfer the investments into a new name, or sell them and receive the cash.
To transfer OEIC or Savings Plan funds directly to the beneficiaries, you’ll need to send us the following forms:
To reinvest OEIC or M&G Savings Plan funds into an ISA, you’ll need to send us:
The letter must be signed and dated by the Executors/Personal Representatives as they are responsible for the existing investments.
The M&G ISA Application Form must be signed by the Beneficiary/New Investor.
A surviving spouse or civil partner who inherits some or all of the assets can use these to invest directly into an M&G APS ISA, subject to their APS ISA allowance.
To do this you’ll need to send the following:
To sell the investment you can either:
A Grant of Representation/Grant of Probate, is the legal document which confirms the executor(s) of a Will (the person or people responsible for carrying out the wishes contained in the Will) and who have the authority to deal with the assets of a person who has died. If they didn’t leave a Will, Letters of Administration/Certificate of Confirmation is used instead.
You can download the Small Estates form.
You can only send us the original documents and not copies. Alternatively, you can upload via our document upload facility on My Account. Please call 0800 390 390 and we’ll be able to discuss with you details of how to upload documents electronically. If sending a Grant of Representation please ensure you also send a completed Executor Notification form signed by each of the executors.
You can only send us the original Death Certificate. Alternatively, you can upload the Death Certificate electronically. Please visit My Account. The online document upload facility can be accessed by clicking the 'Help&Upload’ button in the lower left corner. Please follow the instructions to upload your documents using the access code: BEREAVED ensuring that you provide your full address and contact details as we'll need this information to send you a date of death valuation and details of the next steps to take.
No, you don’t need to send a Grant of Representation for a joint account. We’ll amend the records to remove the deceased investor’s name.
Our investment team will continue to manage the investments as before. Please remember that prices will go down as well as up and you may get back less than you originally invested.
If your spouse or civil partner held an Individual Savings Account (ISA) and died on or after 3 December 2014, you are able to inherit an additional ISA allowance called the Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) ISA allowance. This APS ISA allowance is in addition to your personal annual ISA allowance and you qualify for it regardless of whether you inherit the assets from your spouse or civil partner’s ISA as cash or shares.
Most people with spouses or civil partners who held an ISA and who died on or after 3 December 2014 will be eligible for an APS ISA. The only reason you might not qualify is if you were not living with your spouse or civil partner when they died because you were separated under a court order or a deed of separation, or in circumstances where your marriage or civil partnership had broken down.
Use the Government's 'Tell Us Once' service to inform several government bodies of a death, in one go. This service will inform HMRC, the Department of Work and Pensions, the Passport Office, the DVLA, local councils and more.
M&G Investment Management Limited (MAGIM), M&G Alternative Investment Management Limited (MAGAIM), M&G Securities Limited (MGSL) and M&G Financial Services Limited (MGFS) are registered in England and Wales under numbers (936683, 2059989, 90776, 923891) respectively. The registered address of MAGIM, MAGAIM, MGSL, and MGFS is 10 Fenchurch Avenue, London, EC3M 5AG. MAGIM, MAGAIM, MGSL, and MGFS are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) under numbers 119328, 122011, 122057, 122058 respectively.
