When someone dies, their money, property and possessions cannot simply be collected and shared out. In most cases, the person dealing with the estate must first obtain legal authority to act, and it is at this point that many families first contact a probate solicitor.
Probate is often spoken about as if it were a single event, but in reality, it is a legal process with defined stages, deadlines, and responsibilities, and mistakes can have serious consequences for the person administering the estate. This article explains what probate is, how the process works, and when professional help is advisable.
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What Is Probate And When Is It Needed?
Probate is the legal process of proving a deceased person’s will and obtaining the authority to administer their estate. The document granting that authority is called a grant of representation. Where there is a valid will, the executors named in it apply for a grant of probate. Where there is no will, the deceased is said to have died intestate, and their closest relatives apply for letters of administration instead, with the estate distributed according to the intestacy rules rather than the deceased’s wishes.
Whether a grant is needed depends on what the deceased owned and how they owned it. A grant is almost always required where the estate includes a property held in the deceased’s sole name, and most banks will insist on seeing one before releasing balances above their own thresholds, which vary between institutions. A grant may not be needed where the estate is small or where assets were held jointly and pass automatically to the surviving joint owner.
How Does The Probate Process Work?
The process begins with identifying and valuing everything the deceased owned and owed at the date of death, including property, bank accounts, investments, pensions, personal possessions, and debts.
Any inheritance tax position must be dealt with before or alongside the application. For many straightforward estates no tax return is required, but where the estate exceeds the available allowances, a full account must be submitted to HM Revenue and Customs and at least part of any tax paid before the grant will be issued.
The application for the grant is then made, usually online, supported by the original will where there is one. The court fee is £526 for estates worth more than £5,000, following an increase from £300 on 13 July 2026, with no fee for smaller estates. Official copies of the grant ordered with the application cost £2 each, and it is sensible to order several, since banks and other institutions each require a sealed copy.
Once the grant is issued, the executors or administrators collect in the assets, pay the debts, funeral costs, and any remaining tax, prepare estate accounts, and distribute what is left to the beneficiaries.
What About Inheritance Tax?
Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the value of an estate above the available allowances. Every individual has a nil rate band of £325,000, and an additional residence nil rate band of up to £175,000 may apply where a home is left to direct descendants. Unused allowances can be transferred between spouses and civil partners, and anything left to a spouse, civil partner, or charity is exempt altogether.
Do You Have To Use A Probate Solicitor?
No. Executors and administrators are entitled to apply for a grant and administer an estate themselves, and for a modest estate with no property, no tax, and a small number of beneficiaries, that can be a reasonable course.
Professional help is strongly advisable where the estate is taxable, where it includes a business, agricultural property, or assets abroad, where the will creates a trust, where the estate may be insolvent, where beneficiaries cannot be traced, or where any dispute is possible. It is also worth remembering that executors are personally liable for mistakes in the administration, including unpaid tax and incorrect distributions, even where the error was innocent. A probate solicitor’s involvement protects the person doing the job as much as the estate itself, and the reasonable costs of professional administration are paid from the estate rather than by the executor personally.
Help need not be all or nothing. Some clients instruct a probate solicitor to deal with the entire administration from start to finish, while others ask for assistance with a single element, most commonly obtaining the grant or completing the inheritance tax account, and then handle the remaining steps themselves.
How Can Johnson Astills Help?
The probate solicitors at Johnson Astills advise executors, administrators, and families across Leicester, Loughborough, and the surrounding areas on every stage of the probate process, from establishing whether a grant is needed through to the final distribution of the estate. The firm holds the Law Society’s Lexcel accreditation for client care and practice management, and the team is experienced in both straightforward and complex estates, including those involving inheritance tax, trusts, and intestacy.
If you have lost someone and are unsure what the estate requires, telephone our Leicester office on 0116 255 4855 and ask for the wills and probate team. We will explain in plain terms whether probate is needed, what the process will involve in your circumstances, and the ways in which we can take the burden from you.
Please call us free now on 0800 059 0600 or complete a Free Online Enquiry and a member of the team will get back to you soon.
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