The following may not be relevant as accounts are probably joint, and spousal rights are involved.
We found opening an Executors account was nigh on impossible, but may have been affected by Covid staffing.
If the deceased had an account at a bank, get them to open a Executor account to receive any funds that come in before and after probate. It can also be used to pay for out running expenses or whatever. The deceased's a/c will be frozen.
Not an expert, but recent experience. Worth researching at least.
What they do in Canada for an account that is the sole property of the deceased is the bank freezes the account as soon as they are informed of the death. The contents of the account are then transferred over to an estate account after the will has gone through probate. Income can continue to come into the regular account until the estate account is opened.
However, the executor cannot access the estate account until the will is probated, part of which is the process for the executor(s) getting control of the assets. Routine bills associated with the estate can be paid until then, but only under the supervision of the bank manager. Anything which came out of the account before the bank was notified will come under a microscope.
Once the bank has a certified copy of the probate documents they will turn over the estate account, including a set of cheque books, to the executor(s). There may be some internal bureaucracy involved, so this may not happen instantly.
The estate account does not pay interest. This is to ensure the estate does not earn income as that would require an additional tax return to be filed (there are generally two, one upon death to cover the tax year up to that point, and another for the estate itself later on).
The bank manager (or whoever handles estates at the bank) should be able to explain the process thoroughly from their end of things. They need to be informed right away however and a meeting arranged with the executor or joint executors. It is important to take notes about "things to do" when in the meeting because there will be things to do.
The important thing is to notify the bank right away and arrange a meeting. Take copies of the death certificate and the will for the bank's records. They may want a notarized copy of the will, so clarify this point when arranging the meeting.
The other thing to take to any meetings is ID for everyone involved. Find out what ID is required and be sure that everyone has it with them.
Various parties may want notarized copies of various documents. If you are dealing with a lawyer then he can likely make these for you. Make a reasonable estimate of how many copies you will need. If you are doing it without a lawyer then you may have to make other arrangements for doing this.
When contacting all the various parties that need to be notified, ask what documents they need and how they are to be submitted. Some will require notarized paper copies, while some may be happy with being emailed a photograph of the document, depending on the nature of what is involved.
The above is how things are done in Canada, or rather in Ontario in particular. Details may differ in the UK.
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