Guides

Do I need probate if the house was jointly owned?

If the home was held as joint tenants, it passes automatically and probate isn't needed for the property. Here's how to confirm, and when probate is still required.

Do I need probate for a small estate?

Estates under £5,000, or held entirely in joint accounts, often don't need probate. Here's how each bank decides and what you can do without a grant.

What happens if there's no will (intestacy) in the UK

If someone dies without a will in the UK, the intestacy rules decide who inherits. Here's the order, and where it differs in Scotland.

Probate and inheritance tax: what's changed

The probate fee is £526, most applications are now online, and pension pots come into inheritance tax from April 2027. What that means in practice.

Do I need a probate solicitor?

Most straightforward estates don't need one. Here's when a solicitor is worth the cost, when it isn't, and what it should cost either way.

What makes a good probate solicitor

The questions to ask before you instruct anyone, the fee structures to avoid, and how to check a firm is properly regulated.

What a probate solicitor actually does

Task by task, what you're paying a probate solicitor for, and which parts you could realistically do yourself.

Probate without a will: letters of administration

Who can apply when there's no will, how letters of administration work, and who inherits under the intestacy rules in each UK nation.

Letters of administration: what they are and how to apply

Letters of administration are the grant you apply for when there is no will. Who can apply, the order of priority, the £526 fee and how long it takes.

Executor of a will: what the job involves

What an executor of a will actually has to do, what they are liable for, whether they can be paid, and how to say no if you do not want the job.

What to do if there is no will

No will means the intestacy rules decide who inherits and who can act. The first steps, who can apply, and the £526 court fee in England and Wales.

Executor vs family: who can do what

Next of kin has almost no legal power over an estate. What an executor, an administrator, the next of kin and a beneficiary can each actually do.

Do I need probate? The full report

Probate is assumed far more often than it is needed. Joint assets pass automatically and most banks release up to £50,000 without a grant. The full picture.

Probate vs inheritance tax: who does what

Probate is a court document from HMCTS. Inheritance tax is a bill from HMRC, due six months after death. How the two connect and who helps with each.

Probate providers compared: who to use

DIY, fixed-fee grant, solicitor, bank or estate administration firm, compared on cost and on what you still have to do yourself. DIY means the £526 court fee plus any copies.

Estate administration vs probate

Probate is one document. Estate administration is the whole job, usually six to twelve months. What each covers, and where the grant fits in.

Why does probate take so long?

The grant usually arrives within 12 weeks of applying; the whole estate takes longer. The real causes of delay, and the four things that genuinely speed it up.

Closing a bank account without probate

How to close a UK bank account after a death without a grant of probate: thresholds, the small estates form, and what each bank typically asks for.

Using Tell Us Once after a spouse or partner dies

Tell Us Once notifies HMRC, DWP, DVLA, Passport Office and your council in one go. What it does and doesn't change for the surviving spouse.

Bereavement Support Payment, who can claim, how much

Bereavement Support Payment is a one-off lump sum plus 18 monthly payments for surviving spouses, civil partners and (since 2023) cohabiting partners with children.

Funeral Expenses Payment, who qualifies and how much

Funeral Expenses Payment helps with the cost of a funeral if you're on a low income. Covers burial or cremation fees and up to £1,000 of other costs.

What to do in the first 24 hours after a death

A practical checklist for the first 24 hours after someone dies in the UK: getting the death verified, contacting a funeral director, and what NOT to do.

What to do when someone dies at home in the UK

Step-by-step for the first few hours when someone dies at home, expected or unexpected, with or without a doctor present.

Next steps after a death: the first week

What to do in the first week after a death in the UK, whether it happened at home, in hospital, in a hospice or in a care home.

Registering a death in Scotland, what's different

Scotland's death registration process: 8-day deadline, the NRS, where you can register, and how Confirmation differs from probate in England.

How many death certificates do I need?

Most families need four to ten certified copies of the death certificate. How many certified copies you may need, what they cost and how to avoid delays.

How long does it take to get a death certificate?

You get certified copies at the registration appointment itself. The wait is getting to that appointment: usually a few days, longer with a coroner involved.

What to do when someone dies abroad

Registering the death locally, getting UK paperwork organisations will accept, repatriation versus a funeral overseas, and where the FCDO can help.

Overseas property or accounts in a UK estate

A UK grant of probate usually stops at the border. How foreign homes, bank accounts and shares are dealt with, and how double-tax relief works.

When an estate has more debts than money

An insolvent estate has a strict legal order for paying debts. Pay the wrong creditor first and the executor can be personally liable. Here's the order.

What to do if you can't find the will

Where wills are actually stored, how to run a National Will Register search, and what happens to the estate if no will is ever found.

When a death is reported to the coroner

Why deaths get referred, how an interim certificate lets you carry on, and what an inquest means for registering the death and applying for probate.

Being executor when the will is contested

What a challenge to a will actually stops, the deadlines that matter, how a caveat works, and how an executor stays neutral and protected.

How long death admin really takes

The realistic shape of UK death admin: how many organisations get told, what each step takes, where people get stuck, and the order that works best.

Empty property after a death: costs, tax and selling

What an inherited empty home costs each month, how council tax and capital gains work, the ways to sell it, and the small jobs that get you more for it.

House clearance after a death: when and how

When you can clear a house after a death, what to do before probate, how to value the contents for the estate, and what should never be thrown away.

What is a direct cremation?

A direct cremation costs about £1,628 on average. Here's exactly what you get, what you give up, and who it suits.

Funeral options compared: costs and what's included

Direct cremation, simple, traditional, burial, natural burial and celebrations of life, with average UK costs and what each includes.

How to choose a funeral director

The price list every UK funeral director must give you, the questions to ask, and the red flags that mean you should get another quote.

Funeral costs UK: what a funeral costs in 2026

A simple attended funeral averages £3,828 in 2026 and a direct cremation £1,628. UK funeral costs by type and region, and the choices that change the total most.

The funeral process, step by step

From the death to the funeral: what happens at each stage, who does it, and how long it usually takes in each UK nation.

Alternatives to a traditional funeral

Natural burial, direct cremation with a memorial, celebrations of life, donation to medical science, and what each involves and costs.

How to plan a funeral, step by step (UK)

How to plan a funeral in the UK: what you must decide in the first 48 hours, what can wait, who does what, and what each decision costs.

How long after a death is the funeral in the UK?

Most UK funerals happen one to three weeks after the death. What sets the date, what holds it up, and how soon a funeral can legally take place.

What is estate administration?

Estate administration explained: what it involves, how it differs from probate, who does it, how long it takes and what you can hand over.

Death admin: what it is and how to get through it

Death admin is the paperwork after a bereavement. What it involves, how many organisations you have to tell, how long it takes, and how to cut it down.

Estate administration or death admin: which help?

Compare Alenity death admin, grant-only probate help and full estate administration, including what each service does and does not cover.