What is probate?
What is probate, and do I need it?
What does probate mean?
Probate is short for “a Grant of Probate.” It’s a legal document issued by the Probate Registry (part of HMCTS) that confirms the named Executors have the authority to deal with the deceased’s estate. Without this document, most financial institutions and the Land Registry will not release funds, transfer property, or allow assets to be dealt with.
If there is no Will, the equivalent document is called Letters of Administration. It serves the same purpose but is applied for by an Administrator (usually the closest next of kin) rather than an Executor. YouCanDoProbate supports both.
Do I need probate?
Not every estate requires probate. Whether you need it depends primarily on the types of assets held and how they were owned. As a general guide:
Probate is usually required when:
- The deceased owned property or land in their sole name
- They had bank or building society accounts above a certain value (thresholds vary by institution, but many require probate for accounts over £5,000 to £25,000)
- They held investments, shares, or ISAs in their sole name
- They had life insurance policies not written in trust
Probate is usually not required when:
- All assets were jointly owned and pass automatically to the surviving owner
- The estate is very small (most banks have a small estates process for accounts under a set threshold)
- Assets were held in trust
- Life insurance policies were written in trust and pass directly to beneficiaries
If you’re not sure whether you need probate, the best first step is to contact each financial institution directly. Most will tell you their requirements.
When is probate not required?
Joint assets pass automatically to the surviving owner without the need for probate. A common example is a jointly owned property held as “joint tenants.” On the death of one owner, the property passes automatically to the surviving owner, and a death certificate is usually all that’s needed.
Bank accounts held jointly work the same way. The surviving account holder can continue to use the account without applying for probate.
For small estates, many banks have their own small estates process that allows them to release funds without a full Grant of Probate. The threshold varies by institution, so it’s worth checking with each one.
YouCanDoProbate completes all your forms for you
No legal knowledge needed. One fixed price of £499. Most customers receive their Grant within 3 to 6 weeks of posting.
How long does probate take?
There are two timeframes to consider. First, the time to prepare and submit the application, which depends on how quickly you can gather the required information and complete the forms. Second, the time for HMCTS to process the application once it’s been posted.
Most of our customers who use YouCanDoProbate receive their Grant of Probate within 3 to 6 weeks of posting their completed application. Some receive it faster. Processing times at HMCTS vary and are outside our control, but submitting an accurate and complete application from the start reduces the risk of delays.
Can I apply for probate without a solicitor?
Yes. There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor to apply for probate in England and Wales. Many people apply themselves successfully.
The challenge of going it entirely alone is that the process involves calculating the estate, applying inheritance tax exemptions, determining whether IHT forms are required, choosing the correct forms, and completing them accurately. These are manageable steps, but they require care and an understanding of the rules.
YouCanDoProbate handles all of that for you. You enter the same information you’d give a solicitor, and the platform completes all your Probate and Inheritance Tax forms, applies every exemption, and gives you step-by-step submission guidance.
What does it cost?
Applying for probate yourself involves two costs.
The government Probate Registry fee: £526 for estates over £5,000, paid directly to HMCTS. This fee applies regardless of which route you take, solicitor, DIY, or an online platform.
If you use YouCanDoProbate: a one-off platform fee of £499 including VAT, which covers the guided walkthrough, all your completed forms, and unlimited support throughout.
If you use a solicitor: fees typically range from £1,500 to £10,000 or more for a straightforward estate. Some solicitors and banks charge a percentage of the estate value, which on larger estates can be significantly more.
The easy and affordable way to apply for probate
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This was the first Probate I’d applied for. Initially, I assumed I’d have no choice but to go via a solicitor who would have asked me to gather all the information required yet charge thousands of pounds for the service. After carrying out further research online, I came across the YouCanDoProbate website, read their Trustpilot reviews and made some other sensible checks. I phoned them and had an initial conversation with Tom who was friendly and knowledgeable and asked several questions about the estate (it was over the individual IHT threshold but would be using the Transferable Nil Rate Band of a pre-deceased spouse) and he confirmed the platform would be able to deal with this. I was a little nervous initially about whether this was the right way forward but decided to go for it, signed up and paid the £499 fee which gave me access to the platform via my usual web browser so no special software needed. From then on, it was a relatively straightforward administrative task of putting in the information required. I loved that it saved all the information so that if I was interrupted or had to stop, I could just go back to it later and pick up where I’d left off. It went through the estate details very logically – personal info of all those involved – the deceased, pre-deceased spouse, executors, beneficiaries then assets, liabilities, expenses, gifts etc. After filling in all the required information, the platform then generated the Estate Summary (in my case showing there was no inheritance tax to pay and confirming that I didn’t have to fill in a separate form to send to HMRC). It had autofilled all the relevant information I’d input in the previous sections and made all the calculations for me with a detailed breakdown as to how the figures were arrived at. When I needed help and a bit of reassurance on 4 occasions via support ticket email, requesting a callback for a specific time or calling directly, Adam and Tom answered my queries quickly and knowledgeably and I was fully reassured that the forms had been completed correctly. Once I was satisfied with the Estate Summary details, I was able to move on and the system generated the autofilled Probate form which I could download and print off for review before signing. If anything needed to be amended, it was possible to go back and do so throughout the entire process before completing one stage and moving on to another. While I chose to complete the forms over the course of several days, I think it would be possible to complete the whole process in a few hours if there were no interruptions. On Thurs 28th May, I posted off the PA1P probate form with all the other relevant documents required including the probate fee postal orders (so no time waiting for a cheque to clear). I used the 1st class Royal Mail tracked service which was delivered the next day. I received an acknowledgement of receipt email on Mon 1 June with a reference number, another email on Tues 2 June confirming that Probate had been approved and, finally, on Thurs 4 June, I received the Grant of Probate letter in the post, 4 working days after sending off the application. I was expecting to have to wait 3 or 4 months for a response and am truly amazed at the speed of the turnaround. I cannot thank YouCanDoProbate enough. It is an amazing service, worth every penny of the £499 cost and I highly recommend it.
This is a brilliant piece of software. Very easy to use and intuative and, makes the daunting task of applying for a Grant of Probate easy for anyone who can use a computer. It makes using a solicitor for this task completely redundant. Also, the on line help is excellent as you can actually speak to a human.
Questions were easy to read – specified what information was required. Showed what forms needed to be completed re inheritance tax and how to calculate it etc. Am dealing with a simple estate but was worth the cost for peace of mind – especially when I’ve read people pay solicitors thousands of pounds for the same service
Easy and very cheap DIY probate with full money back guarantee
I was terrified about tackling Probate on my own, but the Bereavement Association recommended YouCanDoProbate. First I phoned up for some advice and without even buying the programme, got first rate advice. It was easy to use, the information was clear and written in plain English, no legal jargon. Whenever I phoned the helpline I was greeted by a friendly voice, no call centre, and the information and reassurance was excellent. I could not recommended this enough.
Excellent service received from You Can Do Probate. The staff were very helpful and friendly.
The whole process was very simple. If I can do probate with this website, anybody can!
We followed all the instructions on how to fill in the appropriate spaces. As it was done at the weekend there was no one to speak to but on Monday when I got in a bit of a muddle Tom talked me through what I had to do. It all worked out fine in the end & I would recommend them to anyone who wanted to tackle Probate themselves.
I had obtained Probate twice before this one so the process was not completely unknown to me. However, since my last effort there have been changes to the process, so I looked for guidance and found YouCanDoProbate and decided to use them and their package. I cannot recommend them highly enough – the package and the support that accompanies it is superb. Thank you so much.
SO EASY TO USE, AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE PAPERWORK TO BACK IT UP. THE HELP IS GREAT. ONE PHONE CALL AND ALL MY QUESTIONS WERE ANSWERED AND GOOD ADVICE WAS GIVEN.
Really pleased to have come across this service. The system was easy to use and the support provided was really helpful when I wasn’t sure what info to enter. From my perspective the cost was negligible for the peace of mind the system and team provided. Probate was granted within 8 weeks. Highly recommended.
YouCanDoProbate were very helpful when things needed explaining a little more, The questionnaire needed a bit of research to get the information needed but overall things went smoothly.
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