Guides · 57 articles
Probate, explained in plain English
Everything an executor needs before deciding how to handle an estate in England & Wales. No jargon, no sales pressure, and honest about when you need a solicitor.
Cost
What probate actually costs, who charges what, and where the money goes.
Cost · 5 min read
The probate costs executors forget to budget for
The costs that appear after the grant: insurance on an empty property, statutory notices, bankruptcy searches, valuations, and clearing a house.
Read the guideCost · 5 min read
Fixed fee or percentage: how to compare probate quotes
How to compare a fixed-fee probate quote against a percentage-of-estate quote, what each one usually excludes, and how to work out the real total.
Read the guideCost · 4 min read
The probate court fee and how many copies to order
The HMCTS probate application fee, who is exempt, how to pay it, and how many sealed copies of the grant an executor should order.
Read the guideCost · 6 min read
Probate solicitor fees explained
How solicitors charge for probate in England & Wales — hourly rates, percentage of the estate, fixed quotes and disbursements — and what each route really costs.
Read the guideCost · 6 min read
Is DIY probate actually cheaper?
What you save by handling probate yourself in England & Wales, what it costs you in time and risk, and the estates where doing it yourself is a false economy.
Read the guideCost · 5 min read
Valuing a house for probate: what it costs and what HMRC expects
Free estate agent valuations versus a paid RICS red book valuation for probate, what HMRC accepts, and when a formal valuation protects the executor.
Read the guideCost · 5 min read
What does probate cost when there is no will?
Costs of applying for letters of administration on an intestate estate: the court fee, extra evidence, bonds, and where the work differs from a will estate.
Read the guideCost · 7 min read
How much does probate cost in the UK?
A full breakdown of probate costs in England & Wales: the HMCTS application fee, copies of the grant, solicitor charges and the DIY route. Updated with current fees.
Read the guideProcess
The order of events, from the days after a death to closing the estate.
Process · 4 min read
Tell Us Once: what it covers and what it doesn't
How the Tell Us Once service notifies government departments of a death, which organisations it covers, and who you still have to contact yourself.
Read the guideProcess · 6 min read
What to do in the first two weeks after a death
A calm, ordered checklist for the first fortnight after a death in England & Wales: certificates, the funeral, securing property and what can safely wait.
Read the guideProcess · 4 min read
Registering a death: what to take and what you get
How to register a death in England & Wales, who can register it, what to bring to the appointment, and how many death certificates to order.
Read the guideProcess · 6 min read
The grant has arrived — what happens next?
The order of work after a grant of probate or letters of administration is issued: collecting assets, paying debts, notices, accounts and distribution.
Read the guideProcess · 4 min read
How long do banks take to release funds after probate?
Typical timescales for banks and building societies to close accounts after seeing the grant, what slows them down, and how to speed the process up.
Read the guideProcess · 5 min read
What happens to a joint bank account when someone dies?
How joint accounts pass on death, whether they form part of the estate, how to report them for Inheritance Tax, and when survivorship does not apply.
Read the guideProcess · 6 min read
Can you sell a house before probate?
Yes — you can value, market and accept an offer on a probate property before the grant, but you cannot complete the sale without it. The timeline, the risks, and the tax consequences explained.
Read the guideProcess · 5 min read
Transferring a property to a beneficiary
How to transfer a house from an estate to a beneficiary: the Land Registry forms, an assent, what it costs, and the stamp duty and mortgage points to check.
Read the guideProcess · 6 min read
Caveats and disputes: what happens when probate is challenged
What a probate caveat does, how it is entered and removed, the common grounds for challenging a will, and what an executor should do when one appears.
Read the guideProcess · 5 min read
The will is missing — what now?
Where to search for a missing will, how to apply for probate with a copy, what evidence the registry needs, and what happens if no will is found.
Read the guideProcess · 4 min read
Renouncing as an executor, or reserving power
How a named executor steps down: renunciation versus power reserved, when it is too late to renounce, and the forms involved.
Read the guideProcess · 5 min read
Acting as one of several executors
How multiple executors work together: who must sign, the maximum number on a grant, power reserved, and what happens when executors disagree.
Read the guideProcess · 5 min read
Probate for a small estate: when you don't need a grant
When a small estate can be settled without probate, bank small-estate limits, the indemnity forms involved, and when a grant is unavoidable.
Read the guideProcess · 6 min read
The probate timeline, month by month
A realistic month-by-month timeline for administering an estate in England & Wales, from registering the death to final distribution.
Read the guideProcess · 6 min read
Do I need probate?
Not every estate needs a grant of probate. How to work out whether you need one, based on property ownership, account balances and how assets were held.
Read the guideProcess · 6 min read
How long does probate take?
A realistic timeline for probate in England & Wales, stage by stage, and the specific things that cause the biggest delays.
Read the guideProcess · 8 min read
How to apply for probate without a solicitor
A step-by-step walkthrough of applying for a grant of probate yourself in England & Wales, what you need to hand, and when to stop and get advice.
Read the guideProcess · 5 min read
Grant of probate vs letters of administration
The difference between a grant of probate and letters of administration, who can apply for each, and what changes in practice when there is no will.
Read the guideTax
Inheritance Tax, the allowances, and the tax that arises during administration.
Tax · 6 min read
Excepted estates: when you don't need a full IHT account
The excepted estate rules for England & Wales: the three categories, the value limits, and what you report on the probate application instead of an IHT400.
Read the guideTax · 4 min read
IHT205 or IHT400? What replaced the short form
Why the IHT205 no longer exists for most deaths, what replaced it, and how to decide between reporting an excepted estate and filing a full IHT400.
Read the guideTax · 5 min read
Claiming a late spouse's unused nil-rate band
How to transfer an unused nil-rate band from a spouse or civil partner who died earlier, the evidence HMRC wants, and the form to use.
Read the guideTax · 6 min read
The residence nil-rate band, including downsizing
Who qualifies for the residence nil-rate band, the taper, and how the downsizing addition works when the home was sold or swapped before death.
Read the guideTax · 6 min read
Gifts in the 7 years before death
Which lifetime gifts must be reported for Inheritance Tax, the exemptions that apply, how taper relief really works, and gifts with reservation of benefit.
Read the guideTax · 5 min read
Paying Inheritance Tax before you have the grant
How to pay Inheritance Tax when the estate's money is locked until probate: the direct payment scheme, instalments, loans and the deadline for interest.
Read the guideTax · 4 min read
The direct payment scheme: paying IHT from frozen accounts
How the Inheritance Tax direct payment scheme works, which institutions take part, how to complete IHT423 and how long the payment takes.
Read the guideTax · 5 min read
Paying Inheritance Tax in instalments
Which assets qualify for the ten-year instalment option, how to elect for it, how interest is charged and what happens when the asset is sold.
Read the guideTax · 5 min read
Income tax during the administration period
The two income tax jobs after a death: settling the deceased's own position to the date of death, and reporting income the estate earns afterwards.
Read the guideTax · 5 min read
Capital Gains Tax during the administration of an estate
When an estate pays Capital Gains Tax, the estate's annual exempt amount, appropriating assets to beneficiaries, and the 60-day property reporting rule.
Read the guideTax · 5 min read
Inheritance Tax on jointly owned assets
How joint property, joint accounts and shared assets are valued for Inheritance Tax, joint tenants versus tenants in common, and the joint property discount.
Read the guideTax · 7 min read
Inheritance Tax explained: the nil-rate bands
How the Inheritance Tax nil-rate band, residence nil-rate band and transferable allowances work, with the thresholds and the seven-year gift rule.
Read the guideForms
Line-by-line help with the HMCTS and HMRC forms an executor has to complete.
Forms · 5 min read
IHT405: reporting the property in an estate
How to complete schedule IHT405 for houses, land and buildings, what valuation basis HMRC expects, and how to describe tenancies and joint ownership.
Read the guideForms · 7 min read
PA1P: applying for probate where there is a will
A section-by-section walkthrough of form PA1P, the documents to send with it, and the mistakes that cause HMCTS to stop an application.
Read the guideForms · 6 min read
PA1A: applying for letters of administration
How to complete form PA1A for an intestate estate, who is entitled to apply, the evidence of entitlement required, and common errors.
Read the guideForms · 4 min read
The statement of truth: what you are actually signing
What the probate statement of truth commits an executor to, who must sign it, what happens if the information is wrong, and how it replaced the oath.
Read the guideForms · 7 min read
The IHT400 schedules: which ones you actually need
A plain-English map of the IHT400 supplementary schedules, what triggers each one, and the order in which to complete them.
Read the guideForms · 9 min read
IHT403: how to report lifetime gifts, step by step
A practical walkthrough of form IHT403: which gifts to report, the 7-year rule and taper relief with worked examples, the exemptions that reduce the bill, and how to rebuild a gift history from bank statements.
Read the guideForms · 4 min read
IHT421: the probate summary and the unique code
What form IHT421 does, how HMRC's unique code system works, and how the Inheritance Tax and probate applications connect.
Read the guideForms · 5 min read
Form PA8A: entering and removing a caveat
How to enter a probate caveat using form PA8A, what it costs, how long it lasts, and how an applicant warns off a caveat they consider unjustified.
Read the guideForms · 5 min read
How to correct a mistake after you have applied
What to do when you find an error after submitting a probate or Inheritance Tax application: form C4, amended values, and correcting a grant.
Read the guideDuties
What the law expects of an executor or administrator, and how to stay protected.
Duties · 5 min read
Estate accounts: what they contain and who sees them
What estate accounts must show, which beneficiaries are entitled to see them, and how approval protects the executor before distribution.
Read the guideDuties · 5 min read
Distributing to a beneficiary under 18
How an executor deals with a gift to a child: holding it on trust, when a parent can receive it, contingent gifts and the tax position.
Read the guideDuties · 6 min read
When an executor becomes personally liable
The situations where an executor is personally liable — unpaid debts, tax errors, early distribution — and the practical steps that protect you.
Read the guideDuties · 6 min read
What happens if an executor dies?
Who takes over when an executor dies before the testator, during the application, or after the grant — the chain of representation rule, and when a fresh grant is needed.
Read the guideDuties · 6 min read
What an executor is legally responsible for
The legal duties of an executor or administrator in England & Wales: collecting assets, paying debts and tax, keeping accounts and distributing correctly.
Read the guideDuties · 5 min read
Notifying banks, pensions and insurers after a death
How to notify every organisation holding an asset after a death, what to ask for in each letter, and how to keep the responses organised.
Read the guideDuties · 4 min read
Section 27 notices: protecting yourself from unknown claims
How statutory notices under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925 protect an executor from unknown creditors, where to place them, and what they cost.
Read the guideDuties · 5 min read
Paying estate debts in the right order
The legal order of priority for paying debts from an estate, why it matters, and how an executor who pays out of order becomes personally liable.
Read the guideDuties · 5 min read
What to do when the estate is insolvent
How to identify an insolvent estate, the statutory order for paying creditors, and why an executor should take advice before touching the assets.
Read the guideDuties · 5 min read
Tracing a beneficiary you cannot find
How to trace a missing beneficiary, what counts as reasonable enquiry, and the protections available — insurance, Benjamin orders and statutory notices.
Read the guideBrowse by topic
What could professional estate administration cost?
Illustrative example based on professional fees equivalent to 2–5% of the estate value.
- Example professional fee
- £8,000–£20,000
- Self-help probate
- £349
- Potential saving in this example
- £7,651–£19,651
Illustration only. Professional fees vary and many firms charge fixed fees. Complex estates may require professional advice. Government fees are separate.
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