Probate

Probate is the process of proving a will and obtaining authority to administer a deceased person's estate. The grant of probate is the document the court issues to executors confirming that authority, which banks, registrars and buyers rely on before releasing or transferring assets.

Where there is no will, the equivalent is a grant of letters of administration, issued to an administrator under the intestacy rules.

When a grant is needed#

Usually where the estate includes property in the deceased's sole name, or a share held as tenants in common, or assets above an institution's own threshold — commonly £5,000 to £50,000 depending on the bank.

Often not needed where everything was held jointly and passes by survivorship, or where the estate is small.

Roughly how long#

Preparing the application takes weeks; valuing the estate can take months. HMRC inheritance tax accounts must generally be settled before the grant issues. Administration after the grant commonly runs six to eighteen months.

Why this belongs in a planning conversation#

Probate is what your clients' families experience, and the quality of your planning is judged there. A missing letter of wishes, an executor who predeceased with no substitute, a property protection trust whose severance was never registered — none of these surface until probate, and all of them are planning failures.

Willo is pre-death planning software. It does not administer estates; Isokon and LEAP Estates are the established UK names for that.

Related#

Executor · Intestacy rules · Estate planning software