Probate & Estate Administration

A Grant of Probate is a document — issued by a court — that gives the executor(s) of a Will the legal authority to administer the deceased person’s estate.

Estate administration includes gathering the deceased’s personal belongings and assets, settling liabilities and distributing the estate in line with the Will. 

If there are other executors named in the Will, they will act in place of the deceased or unwilling executor. However, if you’re left will no executors, one of the beneficiaries must apply for ‘Letters of Administration with Will annexed’.

If there is no valid Will (or no executor is named, alive or willing to act), an estate will be administered under the rules of intestacy.

In these circumstances, the equivalent document to a Grant of Probate is ‘Letters of Administration with Will annexed’, which is applied for by one of the beneficiaries.

A grant of probate is usually needed if the deceased person owned a property in a sole name or had high-value assets (bank accounts, investments or shares) in a sole name.

It’ll also typically be needed if there are complex assets — such as overseas property or business interests — or pensions or life insurance policies that’ll pay a lump sum to the estate.

If assets were jointly owned or the value of the deceased’s estate falls below a certain threshold, then probate may not be required.

The entire probate process — including preparing to apply, applying for probate, administering the estate and finalising the estate — typically takes between six and 12 months.

However, every estate is different. Several factors can extend the timeline, including estate complexity, inheritance tax calculations, probate registry backlogs, paperwork, executor delay, asset valuation, disputes and administrative errors.

For straightforward probate cases, a fixed fee may be charged. This can be the case if the solicitor is only handling the application for the Grant of Probate.

In cases where the solicitor will be handling full estate administration, a percentage of the estate value is often charged, usually between 1% and 5%.

This may include a full estate administration service, involving applying for the Grant of Probate, valuing the estate, collecting assets, settling debts, handling HMRC and tax paperwork and distributing the estate to beneficiaries.

‘Probate’ refers to the legal process of administering a deceased person’s estate. The first step is to check if probate is needed and apply for the relevant document. This will be granted by the Probate Registry, a part of His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS).

This gives the executor legal authority to deal with the estate, involving collecting assets (selling property, closing bank accounts), paying debts (loans, energy bills, taxes) and distributing the remaining estate to beneficiaries.