Gotcha - fully understand now.Ok, bear with me in case I haven't got this quite right. We notified Premium Bonds of my father-in-law's death and were told that the numbers can be kept in his name for up to another year. My wife is currently sorting transfer of probate for various assets so this £10k win is being "held" by Premium Bonds until this is complete. Once done, this and the original amount can then be cashed in. So yes "take them on" I suppose is not strictly correct, but the letter notifying of the win was sent to my wife.
It's a pain having to go through probate - it seems only Premium Bonds seem to require this (over a £5K holding, I believe).
Is probate a costly exercise? When my father died, he had approx £5.5K of bonds, and luckily they didn't require my mother to go to probate, so NS&I sent her a cheque for his holding.
As an aside, shite month for me - just £100 (max holding) after a blank month in September, yet £425 for my other half (max holding) , after an equally blank September.