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Costs and fees

DIY Probate vs Solicitor: An Honest Cost Comparison

Two routes are commonly considered for probate: instructing a solicitor, or handling it yourself. This article compares both honestly, including a third option that sits between the two.

What a solicitor provides

Handles the technical paperwork on your behalf: IHT400, probate application, liaising with HMRC and the Probate Registry. You are responsible for providing all the estate information.

Cost: typically £1,500 to £5,000 or more for a straightforward estate. Percentage-based fees can reach £10,000 to £20,000 on larger estates.

What doing it entirely yourself provides

Using GOV.UK guidance and completing all forms yourself means you pay only the unavoidable government fees.

Cost: government fees only (£526 Probate Registry fee plus £2 per copy of the Grant).

Risk: errors in the IHT400 can cause delays, HMRC queries, and incorrect tax calculations. There is no support if you get stuck.

What YouCanDoProbate provides

The platform does the technical work (forms, calculations, exemptions) while you provide the estate information, just as you would with a solicitor. The difference is the cost.

Cost: £499 inc. VAT, all-inclusive, no add-ons.

Included: PA1P or PA1A, full IHT400 and all supplementary schedules, every exemption applied automatically, unlimited UK-based expert support, ICAEW accreditation, 4.9 Excellent on Trustpilot.

The honest recommendation

For most estates in England and Wales, YouCanDoProbate is the smarter choice. The only reason to instruct a solicitor is genuine legal complexity: contested Wills, complex trusts, business asset reliefs, or overseas assets. For everything else, our platform provides the same technical quality at a fraction of the cost.

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Trustpilot five star rating
What a brilliant service

What a brilliant service, a simple money saver. Thoroughly recommended to do Probate yourself. Very well supported by Probate experts on the end of the telephone. I phoned 4 times and nothing was to much trouble. Reasonably simple forms to download and fill in. You can at any point return to the start and edit anything. Even if you make a total hash of it you can start again as many times as you like. It collates all the information you enter into the forms and then when you print it out it is in a recognised format for the HMCTS people. If you are unsure just phone the help line and talk to an expert, if they bare busy they will call you back. I applied for Probate on 29th April, on 12 May I had conformation that Probate had been granted and I would receive my Grant Of Probate paperwork within 10 working days. You cant beat that, well worth the £499.

Website User
Trustpilot five star rating
This was a god send to me

This was a god send to me, made it all so simple and the support you receive if you have any questions or get stuck is amazing.

Sam Macleod
Trustpilot five star rating
I would highly recommend

I only wish I’d found this service earlier., it has been invaluable. It made what felt a daunting task manageable in a time of great stress and upset. The phone support was also brilliant. I would highly recommend.

Josephine Butler
Trustpilot five star rating
YouCanDoProbate is a brilliant piece of software

This is a brilliant piece of software. Very easy to use and intuative and, makes the daunting task of applying for a Grant of Probate easy for anyone who can use a computer. It makes using a solicitor for this task completely redundant. Also, the on line help is excellent as you can actually speak to a human.

STEPHEN JOHN CLARK
Trustpilot five star rating
I’m never one for leaving reviews

I’m never one for leaving reviews, but this service genuinely deserves the 5* review I’m giving it. I completed the probate application with my Mum shortly after my Dad’s passing. My Mum had been quoted thousands of £s to do this on her behalf, which I felt was unreasonable. After a quick Google I found this website and suggested it to my Mum. She was sceptical at first so I offered to help, and having completed the intuitive online process with her, she quickly told me she could have done it herself! It’s not a nice thing to deal with, particularly at such a difficult time, but I couldn’t recommend this highly enough. It genuinely works and we have just received our letters of administration.

Joe Wilkinson
Trustpilot five star rating
Makes everything really simple

Makes everything really simple. Got probate granted in 2 weeks!

Andre
Trustpilot five star rating
Probate forms

When completing the forms, any query I had as soon as I emailed them they got back to me straight away. Also it would not let you finish the section until you had filled out all that was needed. Helpful that you could save and go back in when you had the answer you needed.

anna smullen
Trustpilot five star rating
Using your forms was really…Sraightforward

Using your forms was really straightforward and you were on hand on the phone to help with any if our questions. The IHT calculation on IHT400 was straightforward and accepted by HMRC within 2 weeks. After then printing off and submitting your forms the probate accepted within 10 days!! Fantastic service.

Lynne
Trustpilot five star rating
Excellent Service

i recently used you can do probate and found the whole process quite straight forward , its a lot cheaper than engaging probate solicitors and the advice and support you can do probate offer is very good , if you need to book a call for advice you get it same day normally within the hour of booking it

Stephen Knight
Trustpilot five star rating
This is an excellent service which is…

This is an excellent service which is very good value for money and lives up to its name – yes, you can do probate yourself if you use this platform. In particular, being able to call up and put your questions to an expert, without having to worry about increasing the cost, is a godsend and I wouldn’t have managed without it (thank you Tom!). The process is still time consuming and it isn’t easy, but this service makes it possible and way more affordable than using a solicitor.

Pete Rawlings
Trustpilot five star rating
I can not recommend YouCanDoProbate more for a dedicated and high quality service!

Title : I cannot recommend YouCanDoProbate more for a dedicated and high quality service ! When I first registered with YouCanDoProbate I was dubious: as it was an on-line format and I am incredibly poor with anything electronic, but I need not have worried. As soon as I sent a pleas for help my emails were answered and followed up with a phone call from Tom or Adam on the same day, and often within an hour ! They both had lots of patience and understood my concerns (which were really minor issues !) I was never felt to feel foolish and always treated with respect and professionalism. I had recently helped my brother to obtain probate when his wife passed away, and he paid thousands of pounds to a Solicitor for much less than I have had to do with my case. I only hope my application is accepted, and I now have substantial records to refer to regarding the estate due to this process.

J Angus
Trustpilot five star rating
Excellent service..

Excellent service… many thanks to James he was very professional and extremely patient with me … this is a very difficult time and I really appreciate the help this service provided. James talked me through stage by stage and let me deal with it at my own pace I would recommend youcandoprobate to everyone .. worth every penny ..solicitors had quoted me £8000 that’s a real big jump in price and at such a vulnerable time .. I am now awaiting for the government to process many thanks James for all your help. Corinne Minords

Corinne Minords
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£499

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Additional costs: The probate registry fee of £526 (for all estates over £5,000) and any additional official copies at £2 each. (Payable directly to HM Courts and Tribunals Service by cheque or postal order, enclosed with your application forms).
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© YouCanDoProbate • YouCanDoProbate is a trading name of Kabing Ltd.
YouCanDoProbate is an online platform providing legal forms and information. YouCanDoProbate is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Our online probate and inheritance tax service is an online platform providing probate and inheritance tax forms and information to allow you to complete inheritance tax returns and apply for probate yourself. Our telephone, email and livechat support provides guidance only, we do not provide bespoke advice, including estate planning or tax advice and it is not a substitute for a lawyer’s advice about complex estate planning or tax issues.
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