Probate is one of those words everyone has heard and almost nobody can define. Families usually meet it for the first time in the worst possible week, which is exactly when nobody has the patience for legal jargon.
So here it is, plainly.
What probate actually is
When someone dies, somebody has to gather up what they owned, pay any debts and pass on what is left to the right people. Probate is the official permission to do that. In England and Wales, the document is usually called a grant of probate if there is a Will, and letters of administration if there is not. Banks, and the Land Registry if a house is being sold or transferred, ask to see it before they will act.
When you need it, and when you do not
Not every estate needs probate, and plenty of families pay for help they never needed. As a general picture:
- Often not needed: when everything was owned jointly with a surviving husband, wife or partner. Joint bank accounts and homes owned as joint tenants usually pass to the survivor automatically.
- Usually needed: when the person owned a house in their sole name, or held more in a bank account than that bank's own limit for releasing funds without probate. Each bank sets its own threshold, some are a few thousand pounds, some much higher.
The first practical step is simply to ring each bank, tell them what has happened, and ask what they need. Their bereavement teams deal with this every day and will tell you whether probate is required for that account.
What it costs
The application fee in England and Wales is a few hundred pounds, and there is no fee at all for small estates. That is the government's charge. Professional help is where the real money goes. Solicitors typically charge either an hourly rate or a percentage of the estate, and on a full estate administration the bill can run into thousands.
For a straightforward estate, the application itself is a form and supporting documents, and many families handle it themselves using the guidance on gov.uk. Where estates are complicated, contested or include trusts or foreign property, professional help earns its fee.
The single best preparation
The kindest thing anyone can do for their executors is boring. Keep a single list of accounts, policies, pensions and passwords' whereabouts, tell your executor where it is, and keep your Will somewhere it can be found. Probate is rarely difficult because of the law. It is difficult because nobody can find anything.