The short answer is no. In England and Wales, there is no legal requirement to use a solicitor for probate. Executors have always been entitled to apply themselves, and tens of thousands do so every year. Whether you use our free probate checker or work your way through the process step by step, the legal right to handle it yourself has existed for decades. Solicitors do not advertise this fact widely, and that is understandable. But it is true.
I have spent 23 years working in law and as a probate solicitor I’ve spent many years watching families pay thousands of pounds for a service they did not always need. That is not a criticism of solicitors as a profession. Complex estates genuinely do require professional input. What I object to is the assumption, often unchallenged, that probate is inherently a solicitor’s domain. It isn’t!
This article explains exactly when a solicitor is and is not needed for probate in England and Wales, so you can make an informed decision about your own situation. Note that the rules in Scotland, where the process is called confirmation, differ from those that apply here.
There is no statute in England and Wales that requires an executor to instruct a solicitor. The probate application is submitted to HMCTS through the Probate Registry, and the Probate Registry processes personal applications from members of the public every single working day. The forms, PA1P (where there is a will) and PA1A (where there is not), are publicly available. The process is designed to be accessible to non-lawyers.
What the law does require is that the application is completed accurately, that the estate has been properly valued, and, where Inheritance Tax is payable above the nil-rate band (currently £325,000), that the relevant HMRC forms are submitted before or alongside the probate application. None of these requirements mandate professional involvement. They do, however, require care and attention to detail.
The confusion often arises because banks, financial institutions, and asset holders have their own requirements for releasing funds. They will ask for a sealed Grant of Probate, not a solicitor’s letter. The Grant itself is issued by HMCTS, regardless of whether the application was made by a solicitor or by the executor personally.
Most estates in England and Wales fall into a category where a solicitor is not necessary. If the following describes the estate you are dealing with, the process is one most executors can manage themselves with the right guidance:
This describes the majority of the probate cases I have dealt with over 23 years. The process has stages that need to be followed in the right order, and the paperwork requires precision, but it is manageable. Our DIY Probate Portal was built precisely for these estates. It guides you through each stage in plain English, at your own pace, for a one-off cost of £199.
I want to be honest about something: most of the families I have seen who paid a solicitor £2,000 to £4,000 for probate did not need to. The estates were standard, the assets were straightforward, and the process was entirely within the executor’s capability. They simply did not know they had a choice.
Probate application fee: £300 for estates over £5,000 (free for estates of £5,000 or under)
Sealed copies of the Grant: £16 each (order at least four)
HMCTS processing time: 8 to 16 weeks from receipt of a complete application
Personal applications: Accepted by HMCTS every working day — no solicitor required
DIY Probate Portal: step-by-step guidance for £199
There are situations where professional legal input is genuinely valuable. Not because the law requires it, but because the complexity of the estate makes it prudent. In my experience, the main scenarios where I would recommend a solicitor are:
If the estate is likely to be taxable, meaning the total value exceeds £325,000 after deductions, and there are unusual elements such as business assets, agricultural property, or substantial lifetime gifts made in the seven years before death, the Inheritance Tax reporting alone can become technical. HMRC does not penalise honest mistakes leniently. Getting the figures wrong can result in penalties and delays that cost more than a solicitor’s fee would have.
For straightforward taxable estates, where the excess above the threshold is modest and the assets are standard, many executors still manage the process themselves. But where the numbers are large or the asset mix is complicated, professional advice on the IHT position is money well spent.
If any beneficiary is questioning the validity of the will, or if someone is making a claim against the estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, you need a solicitor. These situations are legal disputes, and attempting to navigate them without representation would be inadvisable. The costs in a contested matter almost always exceed those of straightforward probate, and the risks of getting it wrong fall personally on the executor.
Property or investments held outside England and Wales require a process known as ‘resealing’ or ancillary probate in the relevant jurisdiction. Each country has its own rules. Some require local legal representation as a matter of course. If the estate includes, say, a Spanish apartment or a share portfolio held with a US firm, you will need guidance that goes beyond what a UK personal application can achieve.
An executor who distributes an estate and later discovers a creditor or beneficiary who was not accounted for can be held personally liable. If you have any reason to believe there may be unknown debts or potential claimants, a solicitor can advise on placing a statutory notice under the Trustee Act 1925, which provides a degree of protection. This is a relatively simple step, but one that is easy to overlook without professional prompting.
This is a situation I have seen cause real difficulties. Being a sole executor on a large estate, one with multiple properties, business interests, a share portfolio, or an international dimension, while also grieving and managing ordinary life, is genuinely demanding. Some executors find that the peace of mind from having a solicitor handle the administration is worth the cost, even where the legal necessity is not clear-cut. That is a legitimate calculation to make.
There is an option that many executors do not know about: using a solicitor for specific advice rather than for the whole process. You can, for example, pay a solicitor for a one-hour consultation to confirm your IHT position, and then proceed with the personal application yourself. Some firms offer fixed-fee advice sessions for precisely this purpose.
This approach makes sense where you are confident about most of the process but have a specific area of uncertainty. It is considerably cheaper than instructing a solicitor to act throughout, and it gives you the professional input where it genuinely matters.
If the estate is in England and Wales and you are unsure whether your specific situation qualifies as one you can handle yourself, start with our free probate checker. It will give you a clear steer on whether the estate appears to be one that is suitable for a personal application.
Understanding the cost helps put the decision in context. Probate solicitors in England and Wales typically charge in one of two ways: a fixed fee agreed in advance, or a percentage of the estate value. The percentage model, which is still common despite growing scrutiny, usually sits at 1% to 2% of the gross estate value.
On an estate of £400,000, 1.5% amounts to £6,000 in legal fees, not including disbursements such as the probate application fee, sealed copies, and any specialist valuations required. Even at the fixed-fee end, most solicitors charge between £1,500 and £3,500 for a standard probate, with complex estates running considerably higher.
By comparison, the probate application fee is £300 for estates over £5,000. Additional sealed copies are £16 each. If you use our DIY Probate Portal, the cost is £199 for step-by-step guidance through the entire process. The financial case for handling it yourself, where the estate is suitable, is not marginal.
I am not suggesting that solicitors’ fees are unjustified. For complex matters, they reflect real expertise and real risk management. What I am saying is that paying solicitor rates for a standard estate that a careful executor could manage themselves is money that could legitimately remain in the estate.
A woman I worked with some years ago had lost her mother. The estate was a house in the deceased’s sole name, three building society accounts, and a small pension lump sum that passed outside the estate to a named beneficiary. There was a will, she was named as executor, and there were no other beneficiaries to speak of beyond herself and her brother.
She had already spoken to a solicitor who quoted £2,800 plus VAT plus disbursements. She came to me for a second opinion. The estate had no Inheritance Tax implications, no disputes, and no complexity. The property was the only reason probate was needed at all, because the building societies would have released the funds on a death certificate and letter of authority.
She completed the probate herself. It took her approximately six weeks from start to Grant, which is faster than most solicitor-led applications. The total cost was £300 for the application fee, £96 for six sealed copies, and the time she invested in getting it right.
That is not a rare outcome. It is available to most executors dealing with estates of a similar profile. The question worth asking before instructing a solicitor is simply: does this estate actually require one?
For guidance on when probate is required at all, and what the grant of probate actually is, the relevant guides are available on this site.
If the estate you are dealing with is in England and Wales, has a valid will, and does not involve contested claims, significant Inheritance Tax complexity, or foreign assets, you can very likely handle the probate application yourself. Our DIY Probate Portal guides you through every stage of the process for a one-off fee of £199, written by a practising probate solicitor with 23 years of experience. If you are still uncertain whether your estate needs probate at all, start with our free probate checker first.
If the estate is complex and you would prefer professional help, you can reach us on 01858 451 042 or at enquiries@onlineprobate.co.uk.
There is no legal requirement to use a solicitor for probate in England and Wales. Executors are fully entitled to apply for a Grant of Probate themselves directly through HMCTS. This is called a personal application and is available to anyone named as executor in the will. For most standard estates, a personal application is entirely manageable. Solicitors are useful for complex estates involving Inheritance Tax disputes, foreign assets, contested wills, or unusually high-value or complicated asset structures.
You can absolutely do probate without a solicitor for straightforward estates. Personal applications for probate are submitted to HMCTS via the Probate Registry every working day. You complete the PA1P form (where there is a will) or the PA1A form (where there is not), value the estate, complete any required Inheritance Tax forms, and pay the £300 application fee. The process takes patience and careful attention to detail, but it is accessible to non-lawyers. Our DIY Probate Portal at onlineprobate.co.uk provides step-by-step guidance written by a practising probate solicitor.
A solicitor is worth considering when the estate involves Inheritance Tax significantly above the nil-rate band (£325,000) with unusual assets or large lifetime gifts; a contested will or claim against the estate; foreign property or overseas investments; missing beneficiaries or potential unknown creditors; or trust structures that require specialist interpretation. For straightforward estates with a valid will, UK-based assets, no disputes, and no significant Inheritance Tax complexity, most executors do not need a solicitor.
Without a solicitor, the main costs are the HMCTS probate application fee (£300 for estates over £5,000; £0 for estates of £5,000 or under) and the fee for sealed copies of the Grant at £16 per copy. Most executors need between four and six sealed copies, as each bank or financial institution typically requires an original. Any specialist asset valuations required for IHT purposes are an additional cost. If you use an online probate portal such as the DIY Probate Portal, there is a one-off guidance fee of £199.
Errors in a probate application can cause delays and, in some cases, require the application to be resubmitted. Where an executor distributes the estate incorrectly and a debt or beneficiary later comes to light, the executor can be held personally liable. HMRC can also raise queries and penalties if the Inheritance Tax position was reported inaccurately. These risks are real, but they are manageable for most standard estates. The key is to follow the correct process in the right order, value the estate carefully, and not distribute assets until the Grant has been issued.
No. Probate is not required in all cases. Assets held jointly as joint tenants pass automatically to the surviving owner without probate. Assets with a named beneficiary, such as a life insurance policy written in trust, pass outside the estate entirely. Small estates where the deceased held only modest bank balances in sole accounts may be dealt with by individual institutions without a Grant, depending on each bank’s internal threshold. Property held in the deceased’s sole name, however, will almost always require a Grant of Probate before it can be sold or transferred.
The HMCTS processing time for a straightforward Grant of Probate application is currently 8 to 16 weeks from receipt of a complete application. This is broadly the same whether the application is made by a solicitor or by the executor personally. In practice, I’ve seen some regional probate offices take closer to 18 weeks during busy periods. The total estate administration, from death to distribution of assets to beneficiaries, typically takes between 6 and 12 months regardless of whether a solicitor is involved.
