Probate

[BeautifulBirds]

My friend died last year.
She wasn't married to her partner.
As far as I know there was an inheritance of around 250k.
A death in service of 100k
And a house in joint names/mortgage. Although possible the inheritance may have paid this off.
There was a Will.
Should it have gone though probate?

I've tried to get a copy but there is nothing on the gov. Website.

If the house was owned as joint tenants, it would have passed to her partner automatically and would not have formed part of her estate, so probate would not be needed for that. Even if it was owned as tenants in common, probate may not be required.

The death in service benefit may also have fallen outside her estate.

Any cash or other financial assets kept in joint accounts would automatically have passed to her partner and would not have formed part of her estate. This applies regardless of the source of the cash, so if her inheritance was paid into a joint account, it now belongs to her partner.

If she held any financial assets in her own name, it is up to the financial institution whether they require probate before releasing those funds. Most only require probate if there is a large amount of money involved.

In short, there is not enough information in your OP to tell if probate was required.

Thanks @prh47bridge
Would it only be possible to get a.copy of the will if it went to probate?
I have trust issues with the partner.

Yes, the will only becomes a public document if probate is required. If probate is not required, you may be able to get a copy of the will from the executor if you are a beneficiary, but this is at their discretion.

Was it a total inheritance of 250k ( including the property )
Or £250k assets and bank accounts savings etc + the property.
Even for a joint bank account some banks require probate over £5000 ( approx )

Depends if they had mirror wills. Probate is not always needed in this case, only on the death of the second person.

A Will is only public record once Probate is granted although Probate can take many months

Even if there is no requirement for Probate, very often financial institutions will require it in order to release funds. The limits vary; Nationwide, for instance, require Probate for anything over £30k.

I had something similar with a solicitor who neglected to pay a £6k fee due to the freeholder of my mum's flat when she sold it, and then came back to me (I had POA) for it when they realised their mistake. I negotiated a reimbursement of all their fees for the sale, together with an amount to cover interest (compounded) lost on the money, which would have been invested for mum. I also paid the freeholder myself - didn't trust the solicitor to do that!