Obtaining Probate or letters of administration gives the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions (their estate) when they die. You should not make any financial plans or put a property on the market until you’ve got probate/ letters of administration.

The main difference between Probate and letters of administration is that probate is granted to an executor nominated under a Will, whilst letters of administration are granted to someone who isn’t named as an executor, when there is no Will.

There are certain circumstances where a probate/letters of administration are not needed such as:

• If the estate is made of up just cash (i.e. notes and coins) and personal positions such as car, furniture and jewellery.
• All of the property in the estate is owned as beneficial joint tenants. This automatically means that the property becomes wholly owned by the other owner. If a property is held as ’tenants in common’ the surviving partner will not automatically inherit the other partners share and probate will be needed to establish who will inherits that share.
• The deceased only had joint bank accounts.
• The money held personally is small – The actual limits are dependent on the individual organisations.
• The estate is insolvent – i.e. there is not enough money to pay all of the debts, taxes and expenses
• There are only life insurance policies and pension benefits, and these are in trust arrangements or similar.

For straightforward cases probate can be applied for by post by completing a PA1P form, if the deceased has left a Will, and a PA1A if they didn’t.

The relevant form will need to be sent together with:

• The original Will (if there is one)
• The death certificate
• Any relevant Inheritance tax form
• The appropriate fee – There is no fee for estates below £5,000, for estates over £5,000 the fee is currently £273 (as at August 2023)

Probate can also be applied for online, if the deceased lived permanently in England or Wales, you have the original Will and death certificate and you have already reported the value of the estate to HMRC.

For more complex cases involving large estate, including trusts or multiple properties you should consider instructing a solicitor.

The time it takes to gain probate or letters of administration varies according to the circumstances. For straight forward cases and where no inheritance tax is payable it may only take three to five weeks. However, in more complex cases it may take much longer.

After probate has been granted you will receive a letter stating how much inheritance tax is left to pay. When this has been paid the probate or letters of administration will be sent to the executor/or administrator in the post. This letter will also include details of the gross and net value of the estate. This document will then become a public document and can be examined by anyone who wants to see it.

What Next?

If you would like any assistance applying for probate, please contact your usual adviser or your solicitor.