003 · WHEN SOMEONE DIES

Probate takes nine to twelve months. Almost nobody is told that.

This is what has to happen after a death in England, in the order it happens, and what can wait. The first week has two jobs. The rest is paperwork, and most of it is ours.

004 · THE TIMELINE

Five stages. Only the first is urgent.

DAY ONE

THE FIRST WEEK

THE FIRST MONTH

MONTHS TWO TO SIX

MONTHS NINE TO TWELVE

Day one

Register the death at the register office within five days. Take the medical certificate and you leave with the death certificate. Buy several copies, because the bank, the pension and the insurer each want one. Then stop. Nothing else has to happen today. If you ring us we will tell you the same thing and note the date, so that when you are ready the file already exists.

An empty armchair beside a window in a quiet sitting room

The first week

Arrange the funeral and let the funeral director invoice the estate. The bank will pay it from the deceased person’s account before probate if you send the invoice and a death certificate. Tell the banks, the pension provider and the utilities. The accounts will be frozen, which sounds alarming but protects the money. If the will names an executor, find it now. We can check whether we hold one.

A desk with papers and a fountain pen under a window

The first month

This is the paperwork month. Every account, property, policy and debt is valued as at the date of death. Houses need a written valuation, not a guess from a website. We write to each institution and collect the figures. From those we prepare the inheritance tax account for HMRC. Most estates owe nothing, but the form is still required, and it has to be right.

A furnished sitting room with the curtains open

Months two to six

If tax is due it has to be paid before probate is granted, not after. This surprises people, because the money is still locked in the accounts. Banks will pay HMRC direct from the deceased person’s funds, and we arrange that. Once HMRC has confirmed the figures we apply for the grant of probate. The Probate Registry takes several weeks to issue it.

A wooden garden gate in a flint wall, roses over the top

Months nine to twelve

With the grant, the accounts are closed and the house can be sold. Debts are settled first, then the specific gifts, then the residue. We prepare estate accounts showing every pound in and out, and each beneficiary approves them before anything is paid. Executors are personally liable for mistakes, which is why we do not rush this part. Then it is finished.

005 · WHAT CAN WAIT

Nothing else has a deadline this week.

People are told, or assume, that the house must be cleared, the bank sorted and the will acted on at once. None of that is true. Here is what each of them can do while you catch your breath.

The house

It can sit empty. Tell the insurer it is unoccupied, keep the heating ticking over in winter, and leave the contents alone until the valuation is done. Nobody has to clear it this month.

The bank

Frozen is fine. Direct debits will bounce, and companies understand why. The funeral and any inheritance tax can still be paid from the account against an invoice or an HMRC reference.

The will

Read it once, then put it somewhere safe. Do not write on it, staple anything to it or remove the staples. The original goes to the Probate Registry and a mark on it can raise questions later.

006 · QUESTIONS

The questions people ask on the first call.

Do I have to use a solicitor for probate?

No. Executors can apply themselves, and for a small estate with one bank account and no property that is often sensible. Where there is a house, inheritance tax, a trust or a family who do not agree, most people prefer someone else to carry the liability. We will tell you which kind of estate you have.

What does it cost?

We quote a fixed fee for the grant application and an hourly rate for the administration, with an estimate up front and a cap you agree to. The fee is paid from the estate, not from you, and not until there is money to pay it. There is no charge for the first call.

Can the funeral be paid before probate?

Yes. Send the funeral director’s invoice and a death certificate to the bank that holds the account and they will pay it direct. The same applies to inheritance tax. Almost everything else waits for the grant.

What if there is no will?

The intestacy rules decide who inherits, in a fixed order: spouse or civil partner, then children, then wider family. An unmarried partner receives nothing under those rules, which is the hard part of this answer. Someone close applies for letters of administration instead of probate. The process is otherwise the same.

Why does it take so long?

Because most of the time is spent waiting for other people. Banks take weeks to send figures, HMRC takes weeks to confirm the tax, the Probate Registry takes weeks to issue the grant, and a house takes months to sell. We chase all of it. We will also tell you when nothing is happening, so you are not left wondering.

007 · TALK TO SOMEONE

Ring us before you start filling anything in.

You do not need the paperwork in order, or even to know what you are asking. Ring, or write, and we will tell you what happens next and what it will cost. The first conversation is free and there is no obligation after it.

TALK TO SOMEONE