Skip to main content
MON - SAT
9am - 6pm
User Login
When did you purchase access to your YouCanDoProbate account?
On or after 1st March 2025
On or before 28th February 2025
Don’t have an account? Sign up here
Solicitor or YouCanDoProbate?

How we compare against using a solicitor.

What a solicitor does, what it costs, how long it takes, and how YouCanDoProbate compares. No spin. Just the facts.

The reality

If you are thinking of instructing a solicitor, these are the realities most people only discover afterwards.

Solicitors do an important job, and for certain complicated estates they're genuinely the right choice. But for most standard probate applications, the cost, the timeline and the loss of control aren't explained at the outset.
How much it actually costs
The quote may look reasonable until you add VAT, disbursements, the Probate Registry fee and the hourly rate for anything that takes longer than expected. What started as a fixed fee rarely stays that way.
How long you have to wait
Solicitor-led probate typically takes six to eighteen months from your instruction, and frequently longer. You hand everything over and then wait. Most of that time nothing is happening on your behalf.
You're no longer in control
Once you instruct a solicitor, the timeline is theirs not yours. Chasing updates, waiting for callbacks, not knowing where things are. The process moves at their pace, not yours.
You're still doing most of the work anyway
Yes. The estate information always comes from you. The bank balances, the property valuations, the gift records. A solicitor works from what you provide. You do the gathering. They do the paperwork. At significant cost.
What if something takes longer than quoted?
Most solicitor quotes are either fixed fees that exclude significant extras, or hourly rates with no ceiling. If your estate is more complex than expected, or correspondence takes longer, the cost grows. You rarely know by how much until the bill arrives.
Is a percentage of the estate really fair?
Banks and some solicitors charge 1% to 5% of the estate value. On a £300,000 estate that is £3,000 to £15,000. The size of the estate has no bearing on the amount of work involved.

You don't need
to pay thousands

YouCanDoProbate solves every one of those problems.

YouCanDoProbate was built specifically to remove every one of the reasons people feel trapped into using a solicitor. Here is how.
One fixed price of £499.
No hourly rates. No percentage of the estate. No hidden extras. No VAT on top. The only additional cost is the £526 Probate Registry fee paid directly to HMCTS, the same fee your solicitor would charge on top of their bill.
Most customers receive their Grant within weeks.
Once your forms are posted, most customers receive their Grant within four to eight weeks. Not months. Weeks. You work through the platform at your own pace and post when everything is ready.
You stay in control throughout.
You are the executor. You work through the platform at your own pace. You decide when to do it. You post the forms yourself. The application is yours from start to finish.
The platform does the technical work with your information.
You still gather the estate details. That never changes regardless of which route you take. But instead of handing them to a solicitor and paying thousands, you enter them into the platform and it does everything else automatically.
One price. No surprises.
£499 includes everything. The platform, all your forms, every calculation, every exemption and unlimited UK-based expert support. Nothing is added on afterwards. Nothing is billed by the hour.
No percentage. Ever.
YouCanDoProbate never charges a percentage of the estate. It does not matter whether the estate is worth £50,000 or £500,000. The price is £499. The same for everyone.

It's the same amount
of work either way

Whatever route you choose, the information comes from you.

The bank statements. The property valuations. The gift records. The beneficiary details. Whether you use a solicitor or YouCanDoProbate, you collect all of this yourself. A solicitor normally works from the information you provide rather than gathering it themselves. Some offer full estate administration and will collect it for you, but that costs considerably more.

What the fee buys is the technical work that follows. The form selection, the calculations, the tax determination, the exemptions, the form completion. YouCanDoProbate does exactly that. Automatically. For £499.

How we compare

The same amount of work. A very different cost.

Here is how YouCanDoProbate compares to a solicitor on every measure that matters.
Scroll right to see full table
How we compare
YouCanDoProbate
High street solicitor
Typical cost
£499 fixed
£1,500 to £10,000+
Percentage of estate taken
Never
Sometimes
Forms completed for you
Estate calculations
Exemptions applied
Inheritance tax worked out
You still gather the information
Unlimited support included
Varies, often billed
Work at your own pace
Typical Grant timeline
3 to 6 weeks from posting
12 weeks or more
No legal knowledge needed
Not required
Scroll right to see full table
Still not sure about something? Call us on 0800 689 1447 · Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm

We are always completely transparent

Solicitors are not always the wrong choice. For some estates they are exactly right.

We will say this clearly before anything else. There are situations where a solicitor’s involvement is genuinely the right call and we would always recommend one if that is the case.
When you cannot use the platform
Domiciled outside of England or Wales
A surviving spouse domiciled outside of England or Wales
Contested probate or disputed Wills
The deceased made gifts with reservation of benefit.
You need to claim Business Asset Relief
You need to claim Agricultural Relief
Heritage Assets Conditional Exemption
Assets held in trust for the deceased.
Still not sure about something? Call us on 0800 689 1447 · Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm
Trustpilot five star rating
I received my Grant of Probate two…

I received my Grant of Probate two weeks after using this service. It was incredibly simple to use, the instructions and prompts were clear and concise. All the calculations were done for me. So much quicker than using a solicitor and much much cheaper. I made the application in between Christmas and New Year when most solicitors would have been closed. Probate was granted on 5th January. Using this service was money well spent.

Nicola Lavis
Trustpilot five star rating
90 years old Computer Dummy & Dyslectic

Being 90 years old found the prospect of applying for probate extremely daunting, the registrar of deaths told me to approach the “Bereavement Support Group” who in turn informed me of the web site to down load forms from, this I achieved (all 22pages), and commenced to fill in the answers required, got stuck on one question but the system would then not let me to advance to stage 2 until all was 100% on stage 1. Then phoned “You Can Do Probate” and a gentleman then proceeded to not only help with the unanswered question in Stage.1 but over the next two hours took me thro all the other stages, after which he told me to read very carefully thro the answers for any typo’s or anything not to my liking and to phone him (Giving me his personal phone no) if so. there was one item I was not happy with so made contact again, and he then very carefully took me thro the procedure to make these changes (could never achieved by myself) Then on the 24th July mailed all pages to the Probate Service and on the 14th August received my Probate Certificates Wunderbar

John William Dennis Symonds
Trustpilot five star rating
I found this service very easy to use

I found this service was very easy to use and straightforward. I have given it a 5 star rating and I would recommend it. I telephoned the helpline twice and was extremely happy with the help/guidence I received.

Sandra Young
Trustpilot five star rating
You can do probate is an excellent…

You can do probate is an excellent website, you can ring, email them and they answered my questions when I was not sure of the questions, we applied for probate in April and was granted second week in July. Thanks to everyone at You can do Probate. Use this site and you can save thousands of pounds.

Tony Nightingale
Trustpilot five star rating
Excellent solution

Excellent solution Easy no nonsense approach to take you through the process

Sarah
Trustpilot five star rating
Easy to understand

Easy to understand, online forms easy to understand and complete. telephone back up very good

David Gray
Trustpilot five star rating
Excellent

Superb, easy to follow instructions where data and calculations are generated for you once required fields are inputed. Advise was available quickly , in my case one concise call to Tom( many thanks). The grant of probate was approved by email in one week with no IHT. The formal paperwork takes a further ten days. 5* David

Annabelle
Trustpilot five star rating
Excellent service

Clear, easy to follow information and instructions on the website; helpful, knowledgeable and friendly staff who were quick to respond to all of my queries either on the phone or by email; really speeded up and simplified the process of applying for probate.

Suzie W
Trustpilot five star rating
An excellent service!

This is an excellent service. As well as the clear and logical website to step you through the process, there is first class one-on-one support from experts on probate. Using youcandoprobate saved me thousands of pounds of legal expenses!

Firebladeboy
Trustpilot five star rating
Brilliant

I can’t believe how incredibly smooth the probate process was with this company! I was on the verge of hiring a solicitor, which would have cost me a small fortune. Every probate case is unique, but in my situation, everything was wrapped up in just 15 days. From the moment I filled out the easy “you-can-do-probate” form, to sending it off to HMRC, I was amazed at how quickly I received the email confirming that probate had been granted. I genuinely can’t recommend this company enough! If I could, I’d give them 10 stars without hesitation!

Teresa OConnor
Trustpilot five star rating
This platform is amazing

This platform is amazing! My case was a difficult one as I had to do two probates at the same time. Easy to understand and use and the communication if I became unsure was second to none! Extremely prompt and professional, thank you to the team for making a difficult time a little easier

Lisa Edwards
Trustpilot five star rating
Wholeheartedly recommend

My wife and I are sensible, educated and technical people but the probate system via the HMRC/Gov websites just left us confused. We searched for help and YouCanDoProbate appeared on a search. Reviews were good so thought we should try it out. It really has been the best money spent. The step by step process which then completes all the forms you require, not being able to proceed until the previous step is ready and the general hand-holding is excellent. I used the telephone support once for a quick a question, which was answered perfectly. Really appreciate the help during a testing time. Have already recommended and will continue to do so.

Mark McClintock
AFFORDABLE FIXED PRICE
Forms filled in for you
No expertise needed
Unlimited UK support
Save money, time and stress with YouCanDoProbate
One time payment

£499

including VAT
Additional costs: The probate registry fee of £526 (for all estates over £5,000) and any additional official copies at £2 each. (Payable directly to HM Courts and Tribunals Service by cheque or postal order, enclosed with your application forms).
Get started in 3 simple steps
STEP 1
CLICK HERE TO BUY NOW
STEP 2
REGISTER AND PAY
STEP 3
LOGIN AND BEGIN
Trustpilot
14 Day Money Back Guarantee
14 Day Money
Back Guarantee
T&Cs apply.
We're here to help
Call 0800 689 1447
Monday to Saturday; 9am - 6pm

Trusted & Secure

ISO 27001 certifiedSSL secure256-bit encryptionTwo-factor authenticationAWS Partner NetworkStripePayPalApple PayGoogle Pay
Want to know more first?

See the price

One fixed price of £499. Here is exactly what that covers.

See how it works

See exactly how straightforward this is, from your first question to your completed forms.

Got questions?

Every question answered about the platform, the price and the comparison.
© YouCanDoProbate • YouCanDoProbate is a trading name of Kabing Ltd.
YouCanDoProbate is an online platform providing legal forms and information. YouCanDoProbate is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our online probate and inheritance tax service is an online platform providing probate and inheritance tax forms and information to allow you to complete inheritance tax returns and apply for probate yourself. Our telephone, email and livechat support provides guidance only, we do not provide bespoke advice, including estate planning or tax advice and it is not a substitute for a lawyer’s advice about complex estate planning or tax issues.
© Kabing Ltd | All Rights Reserved. Company number 12125399.

Request a Callback

We’ll call you back as soon as possible during working hours. Our friendly, UK based experts are here to help. Prefer to talk now? Call 0800 689 1447, Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm.
Existing user? We kindly ask you to get in touch with us using the support channels within the platform