Doing probate yourself
Doing probate yourself means personally handling the death registration, the estate valuation, the tax reporting, the application, the collection of assets, the payment of debts and the distribution to beneficiaries. On a straightforward estate this is usually somewhere between twenty and sixty hours of work spread over six to twelve months.
Jurisdiction: England & Wales. Last reviewed 13 August 2026.
Where the time actually goes
| Stage | Typical elapsed time | Where the effort is |
|---|---|---|
| Registration and notifications | 1–3 weeks | Certificates, Tell Us Once, contacting organisations |
| Valuing the estate | 4–10 weeks | Waiting on institutions to reply with date-of-death figures |
| Tax position | 2–8 weeks | Excepted-estate figures, or a full account if required |
| The application | 1–2 days to prepare | Transcribing checked figures and signing the statement of truth |
| Waiting for the grant | 8–16 weeks | Chasing, and answering any requisition |
| Administration | 2–6 months | Collecting assets, paying debts, accounts, distribution |
The points where people get stuck
- Institutions that will not release information without the grant, and will not confirm a balance without a specific form
- A property valuation that has to be defensible if HMRC queries it
- Working out whether lifetime gifts have to be reported
- Deciding whether the estate is excepted or needs a full account
- Knowing when it is safe to distribute
The unglamorous truth
Most of DIY probate is chasing organisations and keeping a clean record. The legal knowledge required for a straightforward estate is modest; the organisation required is not.How our package changes the job
For £349 you get the whole journey structured: a 26-step tracker with notes, registers for assets, liabilities and beneficiaries, an Inheritance Tax screening, an application summary containing every answer the registry asks for, six auto-filled correspondence templates, and printable estate accounts with per-beneficiary distributions. You still do the work and you remain the executor — but you always know what the next step is.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does DIY probate take?
- Most straightforward estates complete in six to twelve months. The grant itself is often eight to sixteen weeks of that; the rest is valuation beforehand and administration afterwards.
- Can I be paid for my time as executor?
- A lay executor cannot usually charge for their time unless the will provides for it, but you can reclaim reasonable out-of-pocket expenses from the estate.
- What records should I keep?
- Every valuation, statement, receipt, letter and the final estate accounts — for at least twelve years.
Dealing with a straightforward estate yourself?
Our free probate checker helps you work out whether this estate appears suitable for a self-help route. It asks about jurisdiction, disputes and complexity, takes a few minutes, and needs no account.
£349 one-off service fee if you go ahead. Court fee and any Inheritance Tax are paid separately.
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Continue your probate journey
Apply For Probate Online is an independent self-help service and is not part of HM Courts & Tribunals Service or GOV.UK.