Do I Need a Solicitor for Probate?

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The short answer

No, you do not legally need a solicitor to apply for probate in the UK. Most people can apply for probate themselves, and thousands do every year without any legal help at all.

That said, there are some situations where professional legal advice is genuinely worth having. This guide will help you work out which category you are in.

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What is probate, and why does it matter?

When someone dies, their estate (everything they owned) needs to be collected, their debts paid, and what remains passed on to the right people. To do that, you usually need official legal authority.

In England and Wales, that authority is called a Grant of Representation (or Grant of Probate if there is a will). In Scotland, the equivalent is called Confirmation, issued by the Sheriff Court. In Northern Ireland, the process mirrors England and Wales.

Without this grant, banks, building societies, and the Land Registry will not release or transfer assets. It is the document that proves you have the legal right to deal with the estate.

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Do you even need probate?

Before asking whether you need a solicitor, it is worth checking whether you need probate at all. Not every estate requires it.

Probate is generally not required when:

• All assets were held jointly (for example, a joint bank account or a property owned as joint tenants), as these pass automatically to the surviving owner
• Assets already have a named beneficiary, such as a pension or a life insurance policy written in trust
• The estate is made up entirely of cash, personal possessions, or very small bank accounts

Probate is generally required when the deceased held:

• Property or land in their sole name
• Bank or savings accounts above the bank's own threshold (this varies by institution, but is typically somewhere between £5,000 and £50,000)
• Shares or investments in their sole name

If you are unsure, it is worth contacting the banks and other institutions directly. They will tell you whether they require a grant before releasing the funds.

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Can you apply for probate yourself?

Yes. In England and Wales, anyone named as an executor in a will can apply for probate directly through the government's online service or by post, using form PA1P (if there is a will) or PA1A (if there is not).

In Scotland, executors can apply to the local Sheriff Court for Confirmation, with a simplified process (using form C1(S)) available for smaller estates under £36,000.

The application fee in England and Wales is £300 for estates over £5,000. There is no fee for smaller estates.

You do not need any legal training to do this. The process can feel daunting at first, but it follows a set of clear steps that many people complete entirely on their own.

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What does the process actually involve?

Here is a simplified overview of what applying for probate yourself looks like in England and Wales:

1. Register the death and obtain certified copies of the death certificate
2. Locate the will (if there is one) and confirm who the executors are
3. Value the estate by contacting banks, valuers, and other asset holders to get figures as at the date of death
4. Complete the HMRC inheritance tax forms (for most estates, this is a straightforward declaration within the probate application)
5. Submit the probate application with the original will, the death certificate, and the application fee
6. Receive the Grant of Probate, usually within 4 to 16 weeks
7. Administer the estate: collect assets, pay debts, and distribute to beneficiaries

Each of these steps takes time and involves some paperwork, but none of them legally requires a solicitor.

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What does a solicitor typically charge?

This is often the question that makes people pause. Solicitor fees for probate are not fixed. Most firms charge either a percentage of the estate's value or an hourly rate. In practice, you can expect to pay:

• 1% to 5% of the estate's value for a full probate service
• Or fixed fees starting from around £1,500 to £5,000 or more for straightforward estates

On an estate worth £200,000, that could mean anywhere from £2,000 to £10,000 in legal fees alone, before any other costs.

For many families dealing with a straightforward estate, that is money that could otherwise go to the people who matter.

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When does it make sense to use a solicitor?

Being honest with you: there are situations where professional legal advice is genuinely worthwhile. Please do consider speaking to a solicitor if:

• Inheritance tax is likely to be due. Only around 4% of UK estates actually pay inheritance tax, but if the estate is above the threshold and no full exemptions apply, the IHT400 process is complex and the financial stakes are high.
• The will is being contested, or there is a dispute among beneficiaries.
• There is no will and the situation is complicated (for example, there are children from different relationships, or the estate is large).
• The deceased owned property abroad. Foreign assets do not pass under a UK grant and require separate legal processes in that country.
• There are trust assets or complex business interests in the estate.
• You suspect there may be unknown debts or creditors.

For these situations, the cost of professional advice is usually justified. But for the majority of estates in the UK, these complications simply do not apply.

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Most estates are more straightforward than people think

Here is something that surprises many people: the average UK estate is worth somewhere between £190,000 and £250,000. That puts it comfortably below the inheritance tax threshold of £325,000 (and often higher, with the residence nil-rate band and transferred allowances available to spouses).

Only around 4% of UK estates pay any inheritance tax at all.

If the estate you are dealing with is below the IHT threshold, involves UK assets, and does not have any of the complications listed above, there is a very good chance you can handle the probate process yourself, without a solicitor, and without any specialist legal knowledge.

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You do not have to figure it all out alone

Doing probate yourself does not mean doing it in the dark. A guided process can walk you through every step, tell you which forms you need, help you value the estate correctly, and make sure nothing gets missed.

That is exactly what we built. Our estate administration platform guides executors through the entire process, from registering the death through to distributing the estate, across all three UK jurisdictions.

If you are not sure where to start, creating a free account takes just a few minutes. You can explore the process, understand what is involved, and see whether it feels manageable before committing to anything.

Create your free account and see how it works

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A note on getting the right support

If at any point you feel out of your depth, or if the estate turns out to be more complex than it first appeared, please do not hesitate to seek professional advice. This guide is here to help you understand your options, not to push you into doing something that does not feel right for your situation.

Whatever you decide, you are not alone in this.

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This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Rules and thresholds are correct as of 2024 and apply to England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. For complex estates, always consult a qualified solicitor or probate practitioner.