Can I do probate myself? DIY probate vs using a solicitor
You can apply for probate without a solicitor. When DIY probate works, when paying for help is worth it, and the middle ground between the two.
Can I do probate myself without a solicitor?
Yes, you can. Nothing in the process requires a solicitor, and GOV.UK's guidance on applying for probate says you can apply yourself online, or by post using form PA1P if there is a will or PA1A if there is not, adding that this can be cheaper than paying a probate practitioner to apply for you. Citizens Advice makes the same point from the other side, noting that many executors and administrators act without a solicitor whilst recommending legal advice when the estate is complicated.
The real question is therefore less whether you are allowed and more whether this particular estate suits it, because the application itself is the straightforward part and most of the risk sits in the administration around it. If cost is what is pushing you towards doing it yourself, our guide to how much probate costs sets out the court fee and what firms typically charge.
Do I need probate at all?
Not always, and it is worth finding out before you decide anything else. GOV.UK says you may not need probate if the person only had savings, or if their money, shares or property were jointly owned and pass automatically to the surviving owner, whilst adding that every organisation has its own rules about releasing money without a grant.
The reliable test is to ask each bank, building society and provider whether they will need to see a grant, because if none of them does, there is nothing to apply for and the question of a solicitor largely falls away. Our guide to what probate is explains what a grant does and why organisations ask for one.
Who can apply for probate?
If there is a will, the executors named in it, or in a later codicil, are the people who can apply. GOV.UK's guidance where there is a will says up to 4 executors can be named on the application, that the executors must agree between them who makes it, and that a single executor applying alone has to show they tried to contact the others first. You will need to send the original will with the application, because a photocopy is not accepted.
If there is no will, the most entitled person applies to become the administrator, and GOV.UK's guidance where there is no will puts the husband, wife or civil partner first, including where the couple had separated, followed by any children aged 18 or over. Legally adopted children count, whilst step-children do not, and where some or all of the children are under 18 someone else will need to apply. Our guide to the intestacy rules explains who inherits in that situation, which is a separate question from who applies.
When does DIY probate work well?
Doing probate without a solicitor works best when the estate is simple in structure, whatever its size. The estates that suit it best have all their assets in the UK and a will whose meaning is clear, or a straightforward intestacy, and they are what GOV.UK calls an excepted estate, which means no full Inheritance Tax account has to be sent to HMRC and no tax is payable.
It also helps a great deal when there is clearly enough money to pay the debts, and when the beneficiaries trust the executor and are content to let the work take its course, because an estate where the family disagrees can stop being simple however tidy the paperwork is. The other ingredient is time, since an executor applying alone will be writing to banks, providers and HMRC for some months and keeping a careful record of every pound that comes in and goes out. If those conditions are in place, a careful executor can usually manage without paying a firm, and the saving goes to the beneficiaries.
When should you use a solicitor for probate?
A solicitor or other probate practitioner earns their fee when the estate has a feature that raises the stakes of getting something wrong. Citizens Advice recommends legal advice in several of the situations below, and the others carry similar risk.
Inheritance Tax is payable. You have to report the estate on form IHT400 before applying, and GOV.UK's guidance on paying Inheritance Tax says the tax is due by the end of the sixth month after the death, with interest charged after that, and that you usually have to pay some of it before the grant is issued.
The estate may not be able to pay its debts. Citizens Advice describes administering an insolvent estate as complicated and says you should seek a solicitor's advice, because an executor who handles it wrongly might have to pay for the mistakes.
The will is unclear, or someone may dispute it. This includes any doubt about whether the will is valid at all, since a challenge after the estate has been distributed is far harder to put right.
There is property abroad, a business or a trust. Each of these brings rules that sit outside an ordinary probate application.
Children under 18 are due to inherit part of the estate, which Citizens Advice lists among the cases where advice is needed.
A beneficiary cannot be found, which leaves the executor unable to finish the administration safely without specialist tracing or advice.
Having one of these features does not mean handing over the whole estate, as the middle-ground options below show.
What are you personally responsible for as an executor?
As executor you are responsible for paying the person's debts and tax from the estate before you share out what is left, and if you get this wrong the cost can fall on you rather than the estate. The Gazette's guidance for executors warns that an executor who enters a contract on behalf of the estate is personally liable for any shortfall if the estate cannot pay it, although an executor who deals with the estate properly cannot be held personally liable for other debts the estate lacks the funds to pay, and Citizens Advice says that if you do not advertise for creditors and one comes forward after you have paid out the estate, you might have to pay the rest of the debt with your own money.
The protection is a deceased estates notice in The Gazette under section 27 of the Trustee Act 1925, ideally alongside a notice in a local paper where the person lived, which gives creditors two months to come forward, after which you can distribute the estate based on the claims you have received. This responsibility is the same whether or not you use a solicitor, since paying a firm changes who does the work but not who the executor is, and our guide to what an executor does covers the wider duties.
How long does DIY probate take, and what are the steps?
Once you have applied, GOV.UK says you will usually get the grant within 12 weeks, or longer if the registry needs more information, but that only covers the court's part of the work. Before it come the valuation and the Inheritance Tax position, and if tax is owed you have to wait for HMRC to send you a code before you can apply, whilst after it come the collection of assets, the two-month creditor period, the payment of debts and the final accounts.
In outline, the order is as follows, and our step-by-step guide to applying for probate walks through the application itself.
Find the original will and confirm who the executors are.
Contact each organisation the person dealt with to establish what they held and whether a grant is needed.
Value the estate and work out whether it is an excepted estate or whether form IHT400 is needed.
Make any Inheritance Tax payment needed before the grant, then apply online or by post.
Once the grant arrives, collect the assets, place the Gazette notice and pay the debts.
Prepare the estate accounts and distribute what is left to the beneficiaries.
Our guide to how long probate takes looks at what tends to slow each stage down.
Is there a middle ground between DIY probate and a solicitor?
Yes, and for many families it is the sensible answer, because the choice is rarely all or nothing. A grant-only service, where a firm prepares and submits the application whilst you deal with the estate afterwards, costs far less than full estate administration, and the Legal Services Board's 2024 price survey found firms priced the two very differently, with the figures set out in our guide to probate costs.
You can also pay for advice on a single problem, such as the Inheritance Tax account or the sale of a property, and handle everything else yourself, and Which? notes that some solicitors will agree to this kind of division of labour. If you go this way, agree in writing exactly which tasks the firm is doing and ask for a fixed fee for them, so that both of you know where its job ends and yours begins. Some of the most time-consuming work, such as finding out where the person held accounts and telling each organisation about the death, does not need a lawyer at all, which makes it a natural part to keep or to hand to a cheaper specialist.
Can you step back from being an executor?
Yes, and you have more than one option if you are named as an executor but do not want to apply. Where other executors are named, you can let them apply whilst reserving the right to apply later, which GOV.UK calls power reserved and which only requires you to tell the applicant in writing.
If you want to give up the role permanently you can renounce it using form PA15, which GOV.UK describes as giving up your right to apply permanently. If you are the only executor, or the others have reserved power or renounced, you can instead appoint someone else to apply on your behalf using form PA11, or rely on a signed enduring power of attorney or a registered lasting power of attorney. Where an executor lacks the mental capacity to act, a doctor or other medical professional must complete form PA14 before anyone applies.
What to do next
Ask each bank and provider whether they need a grant, since you may not need probate at all.
List what the person owned and owed, with a rough value for each item.
Check the estate against the situations where a solicitor earns their fee, and note any that apply.
If one or two apply, get a fixed-fee quote for those parts only rather than for the whole estate.
If there is more than one executor, agree in writing who will apply and whether the others will reserve power or renounce.
Place a Gazette notice once you have the grant, and wait out the two months before you distribute anything.
Whether you do probate yourself or pay for help with part of it, someone still has to tell the person's bank, energy supplier, phone provider, insurers and subscription services about the death. Legacy Trail's free notification service notifies private-sector companies on your behalf, and if you are not sure you know about every account, the Account Discovery Service searches for them before notifying each one, with the cost shown on our pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
No, the law does not require you to use one, and GOV.UK lets you apply yourself online or by post. A solicitor is worth considering when Inheritance Tax is payable or the estate may not cover its debts, since both bring rules and risks that a simple application does not.
Yes. The closest living relative, starting with a husband, wife or civil partner and then children aged 18 or over, can apply to become the administrator. On paper you use form PA1A rather than PA1P, and the grant is called letters of administration.
The application itself carries little risk, but the administration that follows does, because an executor who distributes the estate before settling its debts can be personally liable for them. Placing a deceased estates notice in The Gazette and waiting two months before paying out is the usual protection.
Yes, you can instruct a firm at any stage, for example if a creditor or tax problem appears after you have applied. Ask for a fixed fee for the specific task so that you only pay for the part you hand over.
GOV.UK says the grant usually arrives within 12 weeks of applying, but the whole estate takes longer. Valuing the estate, dealing with any Inheritance Tax and the two-month creditor period all sit around the application.
Yes, but you must send form IHT400 to HMRC and wait for its code before applying, and you usually have to pay some tax before the grant is issued. This is the point at which many executors pay for advice on the tax account whilst handling the rest themselves.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.