Frequently asked questions.

YouCanDoProbate is an easy-to-use online platform that lets you apply for probate yourself. It guides you through every step, completes all the required Probate and Inheritance Tax forms for you, and gives you expert support along the way. You save time, money, and the stress of trying to figure it all out alone.

Anyone applying for probate for an estate in England or Wales where the person died on or after 1 January 2022. You don’t need any knowledge of probate, inheritance tax, or legal processes. The platform is built for straightforward, clear guidance at every step.

Cost, simplicity, and control. Our flat fee of £499 including VAT is a fraction of what solicitors typically charge. People are regularly quoted between £1,500 and £10,000 or more, and some solicitors take a percentage of the estate on top, which can run to much more on larger estates. You also work at your own pace without waiting on anyone else, and you stay in control of the whole process from start to finish.

Yes. The platform is accredited for compliance by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, one of the UK’s most respected professional bodies. That means it’s been independently assessed and meets rigorous standards. It’s also rated 4.9 Excellent on Trustpilot by real customers.

No. YouCanDoProbate is an online platform that provides legal forms and guidance. It’s not a law firm, and it’s not a substitute for legal advice on genuinely complicated estate matters. For most estates, it gives you exactly what you need: the right forms completed correctly, at a fraction of a solicitor’s cost.

For most estates, yes. A solicitor’s work on a typical probate case involves calculating the estate, applying exemptions, determining inheritance tax, selecting forms, and completing them. YouCanDoProbate does all of that automatically. The platform was built by a Chartered Accountant, is ICAEW-accredited, and has helped hundreds of people through probate successfully. Where a solicitor is genuinely needed, for trusts, contested Wills, or unusual legal positions, we’ll tell you that before you commit.

None at all. The platform does the hard work for you: the calculations, the form selection, the form completion. You just provide the facts.

Nothing. You can register and start straight away, answering the questions you know the answers to. Anything still outstanding is flagged as incomplete, so you always know what is left to find, and the platform will not let you generate your forms until every section is complete.

Starting early is usually the fastest way to finish, because within a day or so you will know exactly which banks and institutions you need to write to, and those letters take time to come back.

Over the course of your application you will enter:

• The original Will (if there is one) and any codicils
• The death certificate
• Details of all assets: bank accounts, property, investments, shares, vehicles, belongings, and any gifts made in the seven years before death
• Details of any debts: mortgages, loans, credit cards, utility bills
• Details of any life insurance policies
• The deceased’s National Insurance number
• Details of all beneficiaries and their addresses

If you can get online, you can use the platform. There is nothing to install and the questions are in plain English. There is video guidance throughout showing you exactly what to do, and if you get stuck you can call us and share your platform screen with us so we can see what you see and guide you through it.

Yes, you can. There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor. We guide you through every step, handle all the technical details, and provide support whenever you need it. At a fraction of the cost.

Nothing is locked in until you generate your forms, so you can go back and change any answer as many times as you need. And even after they are generated, if you spot a mistake you can delete the forms, make the change and generate them again.

You complete a guided walkthrough of plain-English questions about the person who died, their estate, and their Will (if there is one). The platform uses your answers to calculate the full estate position, apply all available exemptions, determine whether inheritance tax is due, select the correct forms for your application, and complete all the forms accurately and automatically. You then print, sign, and post them using the submission guidance provided.

Quite a lot, honestly. It applies all available exemptions automatically, including Transfer of Nil Rate Band and Residence Nil Rate Band rules, without you needing to know they exist. It calculates the full estate position and any inheritance tax. It figures out which forms are required (this alone trips up many people going it alone) and fills them all in correctly. All the technical parts that tend to go wrong are handled behind the scenes.

Yes. YouCanDoProbate works on desktop, laptop, tablet, and mobile. You can access your application anywhere, at any time.

Absolutely no problem. Your progress saves automatically as you go. There’s no time limit, and you can log in and out as many times as you need. You’ll pick up exactly where you left off.

Once you’re in the platform, a colour-coded indicator shows you exactly where you are. Green means complete. Amber means that section needs some attention. And you can see at a glance what’s still left to do. You can go back and revisit any section at any time, and the platform won’t generate your forms until everything is complete.

Don’t let that put you off. Save your generated forms to a USB key and print at your local library, post office, or copy shop for a few pounds. You’ll still save hundreds compared to any other route.

It completes all forms needed for your application, including:

• PA1P (Probate application where there is a Will)
• PA1A (Application for Letters of Administration where there is no Will)
• IHT400 Inheritance Tax account, where required
• All IHT400 supplementary schedules that apply to the estate
• Non-applying Executor forms where relevant

You print them, sign them and post them. The platform tells you exactly what to send, where to send it and what to enclose, and there is a video explaining the whole thing. There is nothing left for you to work out.

No problem. The platform includes an Intestacy Walkthrough, which guides you through who is entitled to inherit when there’s no Will. A missing Will is not an obstacle.

A Grant of Probate is issued when the person who died left a valid Will. It confirms the named Executors have the legal authority to deal with the estate. Letters of Administration is issued when there’s no valid Will. It appoints an Administrator (usually the closest next of kin) to deal with the estate instead. Both serve the same purpose, giving legal authority to administer the estate. YouCanDoProbate supports both.

Your completed forms can be ready to submit within hours of registering. HMCTS quote eight to sixteen weeks for a Grant, though most of our customers receive theirs well within eight weeks, and some within a couple of weeks.

Where inheritance tax forms are needed, HMRC usually take around three weeks to review the IHT400. They then issue you a probate code, which you enter into the platform to generate your probate form for HMCTS, who aim to turn it around in a similar period.

The platform automatically calculates the full position of the estate and works out whether any Inheritance Tax is due. If it is, it calculates how much, applies all available exemptions, and completes the full IHT400 form and any required schedules. You don’t need to understand IHT rules at all. The platform applies them correctly behind the scenes.

All of them, automatically. Including:

• The standard Nil Rate Band (£325,000 as of 2025)
• The Residence Nil Rate Band, for qualifying residential property left to direct descendants
• Transfer of Nil Rate Band from a deceased spouse or civil partner
• Transfer of Residence Nil Rate Band from a deceased spouse or civil partner
• The spouse and civil partner exemption (transfers between spouses are generally exempt)
• Charity exemptions where applicable

Yes, absolutely. The platform handles estates where inheritance tax is due, including completing and preparing the full IHT400 return and all applicable supplementary schedules for submission to HMRC.

Yes. The Transfer of Nil Rate Band (TNRB), the Residence Nil Rate Band (RNRB), and the Transfer of Residence Nil Rate Band (TRNRB) are all fully supported. The platform calculates and applies these automatically from your answers. Many people going it alone miss these entirely, which can mean paying more tax than they actually owe.

You get unlimited support by phone, email, live chat, and support ticket from our friendly UK-based experts, included as standard in your £499. There’s also a comprehensive step-by-step user guide with screenshots, an integrated knowledge base of probate and inheritance tax information, and video guidance built into the platform. You’re never left wondering if you’ve got something right.

Our team aims to respond promptly. Phone support is available Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm on 0800 689 1447. Email and ticket queries are typically answered the same or next working day. Live chat is available for instant answers Monday to Friday. Many of our customers say this responsiveness is what made the difference for them.

Your data is protected with bank-level AES 256-bit encryption. We also use two-factor authentication (2FA) to secure your account login, the same approach used by banks and major online services. Payments are handled through established, secure payment providers.

One fixed price of £499 including VAT. No hidden extras, no percentage of the estate. The only additional costs are official government fees paid directly to HMCTS: a £526 Probate Registry fee for estates over £5,000, plus £2 per additional sealed copy of the Grant.

Yes. We offer a 14 Day Money Back Guarantee for accounts registered on or after 1 March 2025. If you’re not satisfied within 14 days of purchase, and your account hasn’t progressed past the Testamentary Expenses stage, you can request a full refund. Terms and conditions apply.

Yes. The platform determines which forms your estate requires and only generates those. If your estate doesn’t need IHT forms, you won’t be asked to complete sections that don’t apply to you.

YouCanDoProbate works for almost any estate where the person died on or after 1 January 2022, they were domiciled in England or Wales, and the estate requires probate or letters of administration. It handles estates with and without a Will, and estates where IHT forms are required.

Please give us a call first if the estate involves any of these: a claim for Business Asset Relief, a claim for Agricultural Relief, assets held in trust, national heritage assets, an unclear domicile position, gifts with reservation of benefit, gifts being claimed as normal expenditure out of income, or a wish to claim the Reduced Rate of Inheritance Tax. If you’re simply not sure, call us on 0800 689 1447 before proceeding.

Yes, for most types of complexity. It handles Nil Rate Band, RNRB, and Transfer rules. It handles IHT liabilities, multiple beneficiaries, and estates without a Will. The only limitations relate to specific reliefs (business, agricultural) and certain trust or unusual tax positions.