A family member died last week after an illness. He was a young man, married with children. His wife and he had joint bank accounts, their family home is in both names. He had a will, leaving everything to her. Does she need to take out probate?
If the property is in joint names (joint tenancy and not held as tenants in common which would be most unusual in family homes) in my view no need for probate which would only arise if an asset was in the sole name of the deceased. Joint bank accounts can be transferred into the sole name of the surviving joint holder by providing a death certificate to the bank. I am not an expert in these matters.