Manage an Estate

Managing an Estate of a deceased shareholder

Managing an Estate of a deceased shareholder is a two stage process; Notification and Registration.

Notification of Death

On instruction, notification of a shareholder's death can be applied to a shareholding. This will enable us to place a temporary restriction on the register.

Registration of Death

Formal registration of the shareholder's death is then required to enable the appointed legal representative(s) to sell or transfer the shares as appropriate. The death can be registered by either using the Small Estates service or by providing the Grant of Representation.

If the appointed legal representative is now deceased, please let us know and we will provide you with details of the Registration process.

How to...

Notify us of a sole shareholder's death

You can email, call or write to us to inform us that a shareholder has died.

Email us Call us Post

Email us.

Please ensure that you include the shareholder's full name and registered address. It will also help to provide details of any previous addresses at which the shareholder has lived; to help identify all shareholdings.

Our standard response time is to deal with your request within 7 business days from receipt.

Phone us

Due to limited resource, our telephone lines may be very busy, please email us with your query. If your query is urgent please call our Shareholder Helpline and we will answer as soon as possible.

UK Callers:

+44 371 384 2464

International Callers:

+44 371 384 2464

Lines are open 8.30am to 5.30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays in England and Wales).

Please use the country code when contacting us from outside the UK.

Calls are monitored / recorded to meet regulatory obligations and for training and quality purposes.

Call charges will vary.

You can send us written notification of the death of shareholder to:

abrdn Shareholder Services
Aspect House
Spencer Road
Lancing
West Sussex
BN99 6DA
United Kingdom

Please ensure that you include the shareholder's full name and registered address. It will also help to provide details of any previous addresses at which the shareholder has lived; to help identify all shareholdings.

Our standard response time is to deal with your request within 7 business days from receipt.

What happens next?

Details of the shareholder's death, and contact details of the notifier, will be placed as a temporary notification on the share register. This temporary restriction will remove any mandate instructions. All future dividend payments will also be held by us; pending the formal registration of the death. At this stage, we will provide you with details of the Registration of Death procedure along with any forms that you need to complete.

Notify us of a joint shareholder's death

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

Please write to us at the address below with the original Death Certificate or Grant of Representation (we cannot accept Death Verification Forms) and a completed Transfer of Joint Holding Form, which you can download below.

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

Transfer of Joint Holding Form and Guidance Notes

abrdn Shareholder Services
Aspect House
Spencer Road
Lancing
BN99 6DA
United Kingdom

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

You can use this service if

A UK Grant of Representation hasn’t been issued and is not required for any part of the wider estate;
You are the next of kin or Executor(s) of the deceased shareholder;
The value of the holding(s) in each company, does not exceed £20,000 at the date of death;
No inheritance tax is payable on the deceased’s UK estate;

What do I need to do next?

1. Download the abrdn plc Small Estate Declaration and Indemnity form

2. Complete the form using the guidance notes available

3. Pay the Small Estate Fees

Details of how to make the payment can be found on the Small Estates form.

Find out how to calculate the fees payable:

List of fees

4. Once complete, post the form back to us at

abrdn Shareholder Services
Aspect House
Spencer Road, Lancing
BN99 6DA
United Kingdom

5. We update our records

We will update the holding(s) to show the details of the person(s) authorised to act on behalf of the estate. From then on, only they can approve transfers or sales of the shares.

Need help understanding the fees?

If you need a bit of extra support understanding the fees involved for the Small Estates Service, get in touch by email, phone or post and we will send you the form with the fees calculated for you.

Email us Call us Post

You can email us to request a Small Estate Declaration and Indemnity form with the fees calculated for you.

Email us

You will receive a response within 10 business days.

Where possible, please provide the following information when contacting us:

Shareholder full name;
Shareholder full address and any previous addresses;
Your name and address (informant);
Date of death;
Any known shareholder reference numbers (usually 11 digits);
Any known companies in which the shares were held;
Please also confirm if Probate has been obtained or if it will be needed for any other part of the deceased estate?

Phone us

Due to limited resource, our telephone lines may be very busy, please email us with your query. If your query is urgent please call our Shareholder Helpline and we will answer as soon as possible.

UK Callers:

+44 371 384 2464

International Callers:

+44 371 384 2464

Lines are open 8.30am to 5.30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays in England and Wales).

Please use the country code when contacting us from outside the UK.

Calls are monitored / recorded to meet regulatory obligations and for training and quality purposes.

Call charges will vary.

You can write to us to request a Small Estate Declaration and Indemnity form with the fees calculated for you:

abrdn Shareholder Services
Aspect House
Spencer Road
LANCING
BN99 6DA
United Kingdom

You can 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:

Shareholder full name;
Shareholder full address and any previous addresses;
Your name and address (informant);
Date of death;
Any known shareholder reference numbers (usually 11 digits);
Any known companies in which the shares were held;
Instructions of who to make any outstanding payments payable to (please note: A fee may be charged for reissued Payments);
Instructions of what the executor(s) are to do with the shares (Please see Step 3: Sell, Transfer, Donate);
Please make sure the letter is signed by all executors named on the Probate.

abrdn Shareholder Services
Aspect House
Spencer Road
Lancing
BN99 6DA
United Kingdom

Original documents will be sent back to you within 5 working days.

Need some help?

If you need any support and cannot find the answer on our help pages.

You can contact us on the below number.

+44 371 384 2464

Lines are open 8.30am to 5.30pm (UK time), Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays in England and Wales).

Please use the country code when contacting us from outside the UK.

Calls are monitored / recorded to meet regulatory obligations and for training and quality purposes.

Call charges will vary.

Share Portal

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Manage an Estate

Managing an Estate of a deceased shareholder

Notification of Death

Registration of Death

How to...

Phone us

UK Callers:

International Callers:

You can use this service if

What do I need to do next?

Need help understanding the fees?

Phone us

UK Callers:

International Callers:

You can use this service if

What do I need to do next?

Need some help?