What is probate? Your guide

Dealing with the death of a loved one is difficult enough. On top of that, sorting out their finances can be a stressful and long-winded process.

To gain access to the bank accounts of someone who has died and sort out their property and possessions, the executors named in the will to carry out the deceased’s wishes need legal control of their assets – something that is known as probate.

About 250,000 probate applications are made each year in England and Wales, according to government figures.

This article covers:

• What is probate and grant of probate?
• Do I need probate?
• When you might not need probate?
• How much does probate cost?
• How does the probate process work?
• How to make a probate application?
• How long does probate take?
• Can I apply for probate without a solicitor?

Find out more in out guide on lasting power of attorneys and the importance of them.

What is probate?

Probate is a legal document that provides executors with access to a deceased person’s assets and the right to distribute them – known as estate administration.

An “estate” is a catch-all term for any property they owned as well as money and possessions. The person who has the grant of probate is known as the personal representative.

What is a grant of probate?

If the deceased person left a will, the executors need to apply for a grant of probate in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or a confirmation in Scotland.

If there is no will, they will instead need “letters of administration”, known as a “bond of caution” in Scotland. Both documents give a named person legal authority to act as administrator for the estate of the person who died.

Although this is not the same as being an executor as the wishes of the deceased aren’t officially known, the administrator will be able to close accounts and sell property, and also distribute assets in line with the rules of intestacy.

Do I need probate?

A beneficiary may not need an application to be made for probate if they were married or in a civil partnership with the deceased person, because jointly owned assets, such as a home or joint bank accounts, will automatically pass to them.

However, if their spouse had savings or property in their own name, or the couple owned their home as tenants in common, they would need probate to gain full ownership of those assets.

Banks have varying rules but if the sum in the deceased’s account is below £50,000, some will not require probate once you have informed them of the death and shown a certified certificate.

This means money can usually be made available faster, which is helpful if it is needed to cover funeral costs.

Beneficiaries can be executors and, of course, it is not just spouses who are able to apply for probate. For example, a grown-up child whose father has passed away but is separated.

When you might not need probate

As mentioned above, there are instances when probate is not required. These include:

• You were married or in a civil partnership as jointly owned assets automatically pass to you.
• The amount of money in bank accounts is small, such as below £50,000.
• The estate is just made up of cash and personal possessions such as a car and furniture.
• Any property is owned as beneficial joint tenants, as it will then automatically become wholly owned by the other owner.
• The estate is insolvent – there is not enough money to pay any debts, taxes and expenses.

Read more about later life planning covering wills, inheritance tax, funeral plans and much more in our dedicated section.

How much does probate cost?

Applying for probate isn’t usually free.

If the net value of the deceased’s estate – the amount after any debts and reliefs are applied – is more than £5,000 (most likely if there is property involved), then there will be a £273 fee.

Under £5,000 and probate is free. In some cases, the fee is paid out of the deceased’s estate.

Extra copies of the grant of probate cost £1.50 each, but are useful to have as you can send them simultaneously to the various organisations – such as banks, credit card firms, insurers and pension providers – that hold the deceased’s money, have lent money to them, or have an account with them such as a utility deal.

How does the probate process work?

There are a number of steps to follow before you get to applying for probate. We outline them below.

1. Registering the death

A relative or someone present at the time the person died must register the death within five days, or eight in Scotland. This can be arranged at any registrar’s office, although it will be faster if you do it in the local authority where the person died.

There is a useful tool on the gov.uk website that tells you where to register a death and what documents you need.

2. Getting a death certificate

You will also need a death certificate which costs £11 in England and Wales, £8 in Northern Ireland and £10 in Scotland. You may well need more than one copy to send to the likes of banks and insurers.

The certificate will usually sent 4 days after you apply although if you need it sooner, you can pay £35 for a next-day priority service.

3. Locate the will

Check if the deceased individual has left a will. If you can’t find one in their paperwork then you may need some information about their solicitor.

A will names an executor who can apply for probate and deal with administration of the estate. This can be one or more family members or a solicitor.

4. Report the value of the estate

The deceased person’s estate needs to be valued and reported to HMRC for inheritance tax purposes. This involves disclosing the value of a person’s assets such as:

• property
• bank accounts
• savings accounts
• investments such as ISAs
• possessions – even their old furniture
• gifts (potentially exempt transfers) made less than seven years before death

Possessions and gifts need to be based on what they would sell for on the open market minus any debts such as mortgages, loans and credit cards.

Pensions are not included in the valuation as these can be passed on inheritance tax free.

How to carry out valuations

Valuations need to be done before you, as an executor, can apply for probate. Banks and other financial institutions will provide a valuation once you have shown the death certificate (see below on how to notify banks).

Remember: you only need probate when you actually want access to the money – and some banks will free the funds without requiring it if the value of an account is below £50,000.

HMRC suggests getting a professional valuation for properties:

• Jointly owned – you only have to provide the value of the deceased person’s share
• Sole owner – you must show what the whole property is worth

All of this obviously relies on knowing about the deceased person’s finances. It is worth checking their files or consulting any accountants, lawyers or financial advisers they worked with.

5. Inform financial institutions and close accounts

UK Finance, a trade association, has a Death Notification Service tool that lets you inform most of the high street banks and utility companies that an account holder has died. This allows you to start the process of finding out how much was in an account and getting it closed and applies to:

• current accounts
• savings
• mortgages
• some loan or credit card providers

If a financial institution hasn’t signed up to the service you will have to contact it separately. Unfortunately, there is no such tool for investment companies so you would need to contact these individually.

6. Pay off any outstanding debts

Debts such as mortgages, loans and credit card borrowing will normally need to be repaid from the estate at this point.

This is before any money is handed out to people named in the will.You are only personally responsible for a deceased person’s debts if you had a joint loan.

Read about settling debts on the government’s website and read our guide for more on what happens to debts when you die.

7. Apply for probate

There are strict rules on who can apply depending on the wishes of the deceased person.

A will names an executor to make the probate application and deal with administration of the estate. This can be one or more family members or a professional such as a solicitor or accountant.

If there was no will then the next of kin can apply for a “grant of letters of administration” – a legal document that works in the same way.

The collective term for both types of application is a “grant of representation”, and these are issued by the courts once you have proved that you have the legal right to manage the deceased person’s estate.

If there is no will then the rules of intestacy apply, which sets out an automatic order of inheritance. You can find out more about this here.

How to make the probate application

Once the executor, or next of kin, has registered the death and reported the estate’s value to HMRC, a probate application can be made online or by post using paper form PA1P.

They will need to provide:

• details of the person who died
• the names of the executors
• a certified copy of the death certificate
• the gross and net estate valuation figures you disclosed on the HMRC forms

You will need to send the original application in the post regardless of whether you completed a paper or online form. You won’t get it back as it becomes a public document, so make a spare copy of the will before you send it off.

Online users will be told where you can send the will and those applying by post can find details of their local probate registry on the PA4SOT form. The probate registry then verifies the figures with HMRC and checks all the details are correct.

Consider the IHT threshold

If the total value of the estate is under £325,000 – known as the nil rate band or tax-free limit below which no inheritance is tax due – you can report the assets and debts online using an IHT 205 form.

The same rule applies if everything is being left to a spouse or charity. These are known as ‘excepted estates’.

Estates worth more than the tax-free limit must be reported using the paper form IHT400, even if you can use exemptions such as the residence nil-rate band when leaving your home to children or grandchildren – which grants an extra IHT-free allowance of £175,000 to bring the threshold for paying the tax up to £500,000. Find out more in our guide to inheritance tax planning.

These forms generate a gross estate figure, based on all the assets, and a net amount taking into account any debts, gifts and exemptions. You will need these numbers when it comes to completing the probate forms.

Any inheritance tax owed must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the person died, and you must return the IHT forms discussed above within 12 months; importantly, if you have been unable to file a full account of the estate by the end of that six-month period, you should estimate the IHT due and make a payment on account.

In other words, you could have an inheritance tax bill to pay before you have access to the estate’s assets through probate.

What is shown on a grant of probate?

When you receive the legal document from the registry, it will contain several pieces of information:

• Full name and address of the deceased
• When they died
• Country where they were domiciled (this is important for tax purposes)
• Full name and address of the person applying for probate
• Date probate was granted
• Whether or not inheritance tax needs to be paid

How long does probate take?

It typically takes between four and eight weeks for the registry office to process a probate application.

However, sometimes it can take up to a year depending how complex the estate is, particularly if there is inheritance tax to be paid.

You can track the progress of your application and see if any more information is required using the government’s probate helpline on 0300 303 0648.

Once processed you will receive your grant of probate or letters of administration which allows the estate to then be legally administered.

Can I apply for probate without a solicitor?

Yes you can do it yourself, however, valuing someone’s estate can be technical and time consuming especially if there are lots of assets.

A probate lawyer can take the strain at a time when you may still be grieving by addressing complicated valuations and complex assets as well as any issues around the will.

Additionally, the probate application fee is reduced to £155 if you use a solicitor. However, you will need to pay for their work which comes out of the estate and will reduce the inheritance for the beneficiaries.

Probate solicitors typically charge a fee of around 2% of someone’s estate, according to the consumer watchdog Which?.

You can save money by administering smaller or relatively simple estates yourself as long as you and others are happy to take on the paperwork.