Applying for Probate: What to Expect and How Long It Takes

Right, let's get this out of the way. Probate is the court process that confirms a Will is genuine and gives the named executor permission to deal with the estate. The document you receive at the end is called a "Grant of Probate." Think of it as your official licence to access bank accounts, sell property, liquidate investments, and hand everything out according to the Will.

Without that grant? Banks won't touch you. They can't. They need proof you're legally allowed to act on behalf of someone who's died. The grant is that proof. I've seen executors turn up at the bank with a copy of the Will expecting to walk out with a chequebook. Doesn't work like that. Not even close.

If there's no Will, the process still happens but it goes by a different name. We'll get to that.

And one thing I want to clear up because it confuses people constantly. "Probate" technically refers to the court granting that single document. But in practice, everyone uses it to mean the whole thing. The valuations, the tax forms, the chasing banks, the distributing money. All of it. We'll do the same here because that's how real people actually talk about it and I see no reason to be precious about terminology.

Here's something that surprises almost everybody I speak to. Not every estate needs probate. Genuinely. Whether you need a grant depends entirely on what the person owned and how they owned it.

You'll almost certainly need probate if the estate includes:

• Property in the deceased's sole name (or held as tenants in common)
• Bank accounts or savings above the bank's probate threshold (every bank sets its own, typically somewhere between 5,000 and £50,000)
• Stocks, shares, or investment portfolios
• Business assets
• Money owed to the deceased

You probably won't need probate if:

• All property was held as joint tenants (passes automatically to the survivor by right of survivorship)
• Every bank account was jointly held
• The estate is just personal belongings and small amounts of cash
• Assets bypass the estate entirely, like life insurance written in trust or pension death benefits with a named beneficiary

The grey area. Always the grey area. It sits with bank accounts. Every bank has its own threshold for releasing funds without a grant. Some will hand over balances under £5,000 if you show them a death certificate. Others won't budge for anything over 15,000 or £25,000. There is no standard rule across the industry. I wish there were. You just have to phone each one and ask. Tedious? Yes. But that's genuinely how it works.

If you're unsure, ring the deceased's bank. Five minutes on the phone and they'll tell you whether you need to apply or not.

Two ways to apply in England and Wales. Online through the HMCTS (His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service) portal, or by post with paper forms. And honestly, unless you've got a specific reason to go paper, don't.

Online application (strongly recommended)

The online route is quicker, simpler, and far less likely to result in something getting lost in the post. You set up an account on the government's probate portal, fill in details about the deceased, the estate, and yourself as the applicant, and submit it. The system takes you through each section and tells you what it needs. It's not perfect but it's surprisingly usable for a government website. I've seen 80-year-olds manage it with a bit of patience.

Processing time for online applications is currently around 4 weeks from submission. That moves depending on how backed up the Probate Registry is, but 4 weeks is a fair expectation going into 2025.

Paper application

If you can't or won't apply online, download form PA1P (when there's a Will) or PA1A (when there isn't), fill it in by hand, and post it to the Probate Registry with your supporting documents.

Paper applications currently take around 15 weeks. Nearly four times longer. Why? Manual processing, postal delays, a smaller team dealing with physical paperwork. If your situation allows it, go online. The time saving alone makes the effort worthwhile. I wouldn't even consider paper unless I had no choice.

The statement of truth

This is a change from the old way of doing things and frankly, a good one. You no longer need to swear an oath in person at a solicitor's office or before a commissioner for oaths. The old process required a physical appointment, swearing on a religious text or affirming, and paying someone for the privilege. The whole thing felt unnecessarily theatrical.

Now you sign a "statement of truth" as part of the application. Online applicants do it digitally. Paper applicants sign a printed version. Same legal weight. No ceremony. It saves time, it saves money, and it removes a barrier that made probate feel more intimidating than it should be.

Gather these before you start. I cannot tell you how many people begin the application, realise halfway through they're missing something, and then have to stop and wait weeks for a document to arrive. Do the legwork upfront.

The non-negotiables:

• The original death certificate. Not a photocopy. When you register the death, order extra certified copies from the registrar. I'd say three or four minimum. Banks and other institutions each want to see one, and some sit on them for weeks before returning them. If you're dealing with six or seven institutions you'll be waiting forever passing a single copy around.
• The original Will (and any codicils). If a solicitor holds it, contact them. If it was lodged with the Probate Service, they'll have it on file.
• Inheritance Tax forms. This is where things get... involved.

IHT forms:

If the estate is below the Inheritance Tax threshold and fairly straightforward, you'll typically complete an IHT205 (or the online equivalent, which is now built into the digital application). Short form. No tax due. Relatively painless.

If the estate is above the threshold, or you need to claim certain reliefs and exemptions, you'll need the full IHT400. This is a substantially longer form and it goes to HMRC, not the Probate Registry. HMRC has to process it and issue a receipt before probate can be granted. And that adds time. Sometimes a lot of time.

Other bits you might need:

• Proof of your identity (passport or driving licence)
• Details of every asset and liability the deceased had (bank statements, property valuations, investment records, outstanding debts)
• The deceased's National Insurance number
• Details of any gifts made in the seven years before death (for IHT purposes)

Pulling all of this together is often the most time-consuming part of the entire process. People underestimate it badly. Start early. Start now, if you can.

Good news first. The probate application itself is free. No court fee. No charge for applying for the grant in England and Wales, regardless of the estate size. That's been the case since early 2025 and it was a welcome change from the old system where fees scaled with value.

Certified copies

You'll need certified copies of the grant to send to banks, building societies, the Land Registry, and anyone else who wants to see it. Each institution needs their own copy and you can't always get them back quickly.

Certified copies currently cost 1.£50 each. But that's due to rise to £16 per copy. Yes, £16. I know. That's a huge jump and honestly I think it'll catch a lot of families off guard. Order the right number from the start rather than coming back for extras. For most estates, 4 to 6 copies is sensible. If the deceased had accounts scattered across many institutions, maybe more.

Professional fees

If you use a solicitor or probate specialist, their fees sit on top. Solicitor-led probate typically runs between 1,500 and £5,000 depending on how messy the estate is. Some charge a flat fee. Others charge a percentage of the estate value (usually 1% to 2% plus VAT). Ask for a clear breakdown before you instruct anyone. I've seen families get blindsided by percentage-based fees on large estates. A 2% fee on a million-pound estate is £20,000 plus VAT. That needs to be a conscious decision, not a surprise on the final invoice.

For straightforward estates? Many people handle the application themselves. The online system was built to be used without professional help and the guidance notes are... well, they're government guidance notes. But they're reasonably clear. Where things get complicated, with IHT calculations, overseas assets, or family disputes, professional help genuinely earns its fee.

This is the part that blindsides people. And I mean every time. If the estate owes Inheritance Tax, HMRC wants at least some of that tax paid before they'll issue the clearance you need to get probate. But you need probate to access the deceased's money. So how on earth do you pay tax from an estate you can't touch yet?

This isn't some theoretical quirk. It's one of the most common frustrations families hit during probate. I've watched people's faces when I explain this. The disbelief is always the same.

HMRC's Direct Payment Scheme

The main solution is the Direct Payment Scheme. Here's how it works in practice.

You write to the deceased's bank, explain that you need to pay IHT before probate can be granted, and ask them to send a payment directly to HMRC from the deceased's account. You include HMRC's payment reference and the bank handles the transfer.

Most major banks know this process and participate willingly. The key thing is that the money goes straight to HMRC, not to you. The bank isn't releasing estate funds to the executor. It's making a directed payment to a government body. That distinction matters legally.

When liquid funds aren't enough

If the deceased's cash and savings won't cover the IHT bill, executors sometimes pay from their own pocket and reclaim from the estate later. Or they take out a loan against the estate. Neither is ideal, obviously. But they exist as fallbacks.

Property creates a particularly nasty version of this problem. You can't sell the house without probate. You can't get probate without paying the tax. HMRC's answer is to let you pay IHT on property in annual instalments over 10 years. With interest. That gives breathing room but the interest adds up faster than most people expect.

None of this is fun. But knowing about it before you start means you can plan. Discovering it mid-process while you're already drowning in paperwork is genuinely horrible. I've seen it derail families for months.

Everyone asks this first. So here it is. 6 to 12 months for the full estate administration, from date of death to final distribution of assets. That's a typical range for a reasonably straightforward estate in England and Wales.

But that number on its own isn't very useful. Let me break it down into what actually happens, because each stage has its own timeline and its own frustrations.

Stage 1: Gathering information and valuing the estate (4 to 8 weeks)

Before you can apply, you need to know what the estate contains. Every bank balance. Every property valuation. Every investment. Every outstanding debt. This takes time. Especially if the deceased wasn't... organised. Accounts spread across five different banks, old ISAs nobody mentioned, a premium bond certificate shoved in a kitchen drawer. You've got to find all of it.

Stage 2: The probate application (4 to 15 weeks)

Once you've got the picture and the IHT position is sorted, you submit. Online takes roughly 4 weeks. Paper takes roughly 15 weeks. Straightforward enough, assuming nothing gets flagged.

Stage 3: Collecting assets and paying debts (8 to 12 weeks)

Grant in hand, you write to every bank, building society, investment provider, and anyone else holding the deceased's assets. You send the certified copy. They verify it. They release the funds. Eventually. Meanwhile, you pay off debts, final utility bills, any tax still owed. And you place a statutory notice in The Gazette giving creditors two months to come forward with claims. Most executors wait for that period to expire before distributing anything. Smart, because if you don't and a creditor appears later, you're personally on the hook.

Stage 4: Distributing the estate (2 to 4 weeks)

Once all assets are collected and debts cleared, you distribute according to the Will (or intestacy rules). Transfer property titles. Issue payments. Prepare estate accounts. Get sign-off from the residuary beneficiaries.

6 to 12 months in total. Some estates wrap up faster if everything was well-organised. Others drag past 12 months. Sometimes well past. Which brings us to the bit nobody wants to read.

I've seen enough of these to know which problems show up over and over again. If you're about to go through probate, this section is worth reading carefully.

Missing or damaged documents

If the original Will can't be found, the Probate Registry will usually assume it was destroyed on purpose. That presumption is difficult to overturn. You'll need a copy, witness statements, and evidence about the circumstances. And even then, it might not work. If the death certificate hasn't been obtained, nothing starts. If financial records are incomplete, valuations stall. Keep important documents somewhere known and secure. And, I can't say this loudly enough, tell your executor where they are.

Disputed Wills

A challenge to the Will's validity, whether on grounds of undue influence, lack of mental capacity, or improper execution, can delay probate by months. Or years. These disputes are adversarial and expensive and emotionally brutal. I've seen families spend more on legal fees fighting over the Will than the estate was actually worth. A properly drafted and witnessed Will is the single best defence against this.

Complex IHT calculations

Estates involving business interests, agricultural property, overseas assets, trusts, or substantial lifetime gifts need detailed IHT returns. HMRC can take months to process a complex IHT400. And they'll come back with queries. And those queries need answers. And those answers prompt more queries. It grinds on.

Overseas assets

Property or accounts held abroad often require a separate grant in that jurisdiction. Different countries, different succession laws, different timelines, different levels of willingness to cooperate with UK authorities. This alone can tack on 6 to 12 months. I've seen a Spanish property hold up an otherwise straightforward English estate for the best part of two years.

Beneficiaries who can't be found

If someone named in the Will has moved, changed their name, or simply vanished, the executor has a duty to make reasonable efforts to trace them. That means tracing agents, statutory advertisements, waiting. All of which takes time the family doesn't have patience for.

Property that won't sell

If the estate includes a house that needs selling to distribute the proceeds, you're at the mercy of the housing market. A slow market. A property in poor condition. A problematic title. Any of these can stall completion for months.

The thread running through most of these delays? Poor preparation during the person's lifetime. A clear Will, documents stored somewhere accessible, a list of all accounts and assets. These things make a massive difference to how smoothly probate runs. I know it's not glamorous. But it's the truth.

If someone dies without a valid Will, they've died "intestate." The estate still needs dealing with but the process shifts in a few ways that I think people should know about before it ever happens to them.

First, instead of a "Grant of Probate," the person handling the estate applies for a "Grant of Letters of Administration." They're called the "administrator" rather than the "executor." The practical role is very similar though. Same paperwork, same chasing banks, same headaches.

Second, who gets to apply follows a strict legal hierarchy. The surviving spouse or civil partner goes first. No spouse? Then children. Then parents. Then siblings. And so on. You can't just put your hand up and volunteer. The court follows the order in the Non-Contentious Probate Rules whether anyone likes it or not.

Third, and this is the part that bothers me most, the estate gets distributed according to the intestacy rules rather than what the person might have actually wanted. Under current law in England and Wales, if there's a surviving spouse and children, the spouse gets all personal belongings, the first £322,000, and half of anything above that. The children share the other half equally. Spouse but no children? The spouse gets everything.

But here's where it gets harsh. Unmarried partners receive nothing. Doesn't matter if they lived together for 30 years. Nothing. Stepchildren are excluded unless they were formally adopted. Close friends? Completely shut out. The rules don't care about relationships. They care about legal categories. And they produce outcomes that I think most people would be genuinely upset by if they'd known in advance.

The application process itself is more or less the same. Online or paper. Same documents (minus the Will, obviously). Same timelines. The administrator may also need to obtain a surety bond, which is an insurance policy protecting the estate if the administrator mishandles funds. Not always required, but the court can insist.

The point here is fairly obvious but I'll say it anyway. A Will means you choose who handles your estate and who receives what. Without one, the government decides. And the government's opinion on who should get your house probably doesn't match yours.

Once you've got the grant in your hands, the real work starts. And it is work. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

Collecting assets

You write to every institution holding the deceased's money. Every bank. Every building society. Every investment platform. Insurance companies. Pension providers. Each one needs a certified copy of the grant, a certified copy of the death certificate, and usually their own claim form to fill in. Some process quickly, within a couple of weeks. Others take forever. You chase. You wait. You chase again. You wonder if they've lost your paperwork. They have, sometimes.

Property needs to be valued, maintained, insured, and eventually transferred to a beneficiary or sold. If you're selling, that means estate agents, viewings, conveyancing, all while managing the rest of the administration. It's a part-time job at minimum. For larger estates, it feels full-time.

Paying debts

The executor has a legal obligation to pay debts before giving anything to beneficiaries. The mortgage. Credit cards. Personal loans. Utility bills. Council tax. Income tax for the period up to death. Any remaining IHT. All of it has to be settled first.

To protect yourself, place a statutory notice in The London Gazette (and a local newspaper if you want extra cover). This gives unknown creditors two months to come forward. If you skip the notice, distribute everything, and a creditor pops up afterwards, you could be personally liable for their claim. The notice costs about £100. It's worth every penny. I'd never advise an executor to skip it.

Distributing to beneficiaries

Once debts are cleared and the creditor notice period has expired, you distribute. Follow the Will to the letter. Transfer property titles through the Land Registry. Issue payments from the estate bank account. And this bit is important. Prepare a set of estate accounts showing every penny in and every penny out. Get the residuary beneficiaries to sign off on those accounts before you make the final distribution. That sign-off protects you if anyone later questions your handling. And people do question it. Grief does strange things to families.

Keep records of everything. Every letter. Every bank statement. Every receipt. For years afterwards, questions can come up and a paper trail is the only defence that actually works.

We've covered a lot of ground here. If I had to boil it down to one thing, it's this. Everything about probate gets easier when there's a clear, current Will in place. Everything.

The executor is named. The beneficiaries are identified. The wishes are written down. There's no argument about who applies, no dispute about who gets what, no rigid intestacy formula overriding what the person actually wanted for their family.

A well-drafted Will also handles practical matters that speed things up. It can waive the requirement for a surety bond. It can give the executor specific powers to sell property, invest funds, or run a business during the administration period. These clauses save time and remove the need to go back to court for extra authority. I've seen estates where the lack of a selling power clause held up a property sale for months. Months. Over a single sentence that should have been in the Will from the start.

Probate is never going to be pleasant. It's a legal process that lands in the middle of grief and expects you to be organised and patient while your world is falling apart. But it doesn't have to be a source of extra stress and conflict on top of that.

The single most useful thing you can do for the people who'll deal with your estate is make a Will, keep it up to date, and store it somewhere your executor can actually find it.

At Keystone Estate Planning, our online Will-writing service walks you through it step by step. Plain English. Clear prompts. No legal jargon. Most people finish in about 20 minutes, and the finished document is legally valid in England and Wales.

This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Probate rules, fees, and timelines can change. The information here reflects the position in England and Wales as of 2025. Scotland and Northern Ireland have different probate systems and terminology.

Keystone Estate Planning is an estate planning service, not a law firm. For complex estates, disputed Wills, or situations involving substantial Inheritance Tax liabilities, we recommend seeking independent legal advice from a qualified solicitor.