Probate guide

Every estate and every Will are different. The exact probate process can vary depending on the instructions left in the Will and the assets, creditors, and beneficiaries the estate has.

The basic process for an executor is:

1. Gather the full details of the estate’s assets and debts
2. Apply for Grant of Probate (permission to administer the estate and pass out inheritance)
3. Complete an inheritance tax return and pay any tax due
4. You receive a Grant of Probate
5. Repay any of the deceased’s outstanding debts
6. Distribute the rest of the estate according to the instructions left in the Will.
7. Probate can also be complicated if there are any disputes between the executor, beneficiaries, creditors, or HMRC.

Our solicitors can advise on or help with any stage of the probate process. We can help if disputes are stopping you from making progress or can even take over your duties as executor entirely.

This will take about a year for most estates. The exact amount of time will depend on the size and complexity of the estate.

International probate can be more complicated and usually takes between six months and two years.

Sometimes disputes can come up during probate between the executor, beneficiaries, creditors, or tax authorities. These disputes can delay you in administering the estate.

Our disputes team can help you resolve any issues you're facing, contact our team today to talk your situation through with an expert.

We offer a highly personalised service for each of our customers. The cost will depend on the amount of work you’d like us to do.

When you speak to one of our team, we’ll:

• Judge how much work is involved based on your requirements and the size of the estate
• Give you an estimate for our fees before starting any work
• Always try and quote a fixed-fee cost, if possible, for your peace of mind.

We have more information on expected or additional costs on our Probate page. Visit our prices page to get an up to date idea of our probate fees.

Only the executor named in the deceased’s Will can apply for probate to administer their estate.

If you have been named executor but don’t want to administer the estate yourself, we can apply for probate on your behalf.

If someone dies without a Will, they are said to be intestate. The intestacy rules will say who can apply to administer the estate instead.

Read the question below to find out what you can do if a loved one has no Will.

You can’t get a Grant of Probate if there isn’t a Will, but you can still administer the estate and distribute inheritance through a slightly different process.

The rules of intestacy set out who can apply to administer the estate with a Grant of Administration. Without a Will deciding how to pass on the assets, the administrator distributes inheritance according to the rules of intestacy. Only spouses, civil partners, children, and other close relatives can inherit under these rules.

Visit our page on intestacy rules and estate administration to find out more.

We recommend that you seek legal advice to help with probate. This is to make sure the process of obtaining probate is done correctly.

If you would like to find out how our probate specialists can help you, contact us today.

Contentious probate is where there's a dispute about how a person's estate is administered after their death. We've a team of solicitors who specialise in helping to resolve disputes of this sort using their expert knowledge and years of experience.

A Will can be challenged or contested if a beneficiary or a potential beneficiary thinks it doesn’t accurately represent the deceased’s intentions for their estate, or if they think it's invalid for other reasons. We've years of experience helping clients where a challenge is made to the validity of a Will.

A Will can be contested if:

• The Will has been forged
• The deceased had reduced mental capacity when writing their Will
• The deceased was under undue influence when writing their Will
• Someone was financially dependent on the deceased and the Will doesn’t provide for them (as required by the Inheritance Act).

You can change a valid Will, but you can only make changes to the share of the inheritance that it has given you. For example, you could:

• Give specific assets to different people instead
• Give away your whole entitlement
• Reduce inheritance tax
• Use your inheritance to set up a trust for your family.

You will need to apply for a document called a deed of variation, or a deed of family arrangement, to do this.

Changing a will after someone dies can be a tricky process. Contact our probate solicitors if you need advice and we can guide you through the process.

A beneficiary is someone who's due to receive an inheritance from an estate. A beneficiary has certain beneficiary rights that the executor of the estate needs to abide by.

If the deceased has left a valid Will, the beneficiaries of their estate will be named in the Will. If there's no valid Will, the beneficiaries will be chosen according to the intestacy rules.

Beneficiaries have a right to information during the probate process. It's the executor’s responsibility to keep beneficiaries up to date with how the estate administration is progressing. They must keep accounts for the estate and show them to beneficiaries when asked.

Beneficiaries can take legal action against an executor if they breach these rights or if the executor is otherwise mismanaging the estate. So, it's important that an executor performs their duties properly. We can help to advise executors of their responsibilities and assist with resolving any areas of dispute that may arise along the way.