About us

We made a better way to get probate.

Before YouCanDoProbate, applying meant paying a solicitor thousands or working through the forms alone. We built the third option.

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Where it started

We knew there had to be a simpler way in a broken market.

When Jonathan Friedman's father died, he had to apply for probate. As a Chartered Accountant and software developer he expected it to be manageable. He was shocked by how difficult, unnecessarily complicated and opaque the process was, even with his background.

What should be an administrative task is, for many people, incredibly daunting and often seems almost impossible. Faced with that, most people turn to a solicitor or a bank. When Jonathan looked at what that cost, he was horrified: very high upfront fees, and many providers also taking a portion of the estate on top.

So he went looking for a middle ground, a less expensive product that could help people do it themselves. There wasn't one. Online forums were full of people describing the same thing: stressful months trying to complete the forms, or thousands of pounds paid to avoid it.

“Solicitors and banks have charged too much, for too little, for too long.”

Jonathan Friedman

Co-Founder

How we fixed it

Built to do the hard part for you.

Being a Chartered Accountant, Jonathan understood what probate actually is: gathering information, writing letters, and completing legal and tax forms. There had to be a way to streamline it so a bereaved relative could get through it with minimal stress and expense.

He teamed up with James Zonko, a designer and app developer, and together they set out to rebuild the process from scratch.

Where Jonathan understood the financial side, James focused on the experience of using it. The platform had to be genuinely easier than instructing a solicitor, taking the user by the hand and walking them through every step.

“Applying for probate can seem daunting and a bit overwhelming, but we have simplified everything. We untied the red tape and created an easy to use, straightforward walkthrough. Following the steps ensures you do everything right and don't miss anything.”

James Zonko Friedman

Co-Founder

The result was the first online probate application that completes every probate and inheritance tax form for you, ready for submission, usable by anyone with no knowledge of probate.

Our team

Real people, on the end of the phone

The platform is supported by a UK based team of experienced probate specialists and developers. When you call, you're speaking to someone who works on this daily and can look at your situation directly.

That's why support is unlimited and included rather than sold as an extra. It's how the thing is meant to work.

Our credentials

Independently assessed. Rated Excellent. Trusted by thousands.

YouCanDoProbate is not self-declared. Every claim we make about accuracy, compliance and support is backed by independent evidence.

ICAEW accredited: The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has independently assessed YouCanDoProbate for accuracy and compliance. Not a badge we applied for. An assessment of whether the platform does what it says.

Rated 4.9 Excellent on Trustpilot: Real reviews from real people who have used YouCanDoProbate to apply for probate themselves, at one of the most difficult times of their lives.

Trusted by over 2,000 families: More than 2,000 families across England and Wales have applied for probate using the platform, each one gathering their estate details and letting it do the rest.

“Our aim is to help you apply for probate, by yourself, at a time and pace that suits you, in the easiest way possible at an affordable price.”

James Zonko Friedman

Co-Founder

See all our reviews

Made probate very easy

DAVID LAMSDALE

System was priced sensibly and easy to…

System was priced sensibly and easy to use

PJM

Brilliant, easy to follow website for probate

Brilliant website, made the probate process for my dad’s estate very easy, and simple to follow. Forms populated at the end with no bother at all, and downloaded easily. I only needed one question answered which I got with online chat immediately. Highly recommend. So much better than paying £££ for law firm to do it. Thank you!

Mandy Byrnes

Excellent package

Excellent package easy to follow and good help service if needed – probate obtained in six weeks – thankyou

mark

I have rated this 5 star because I…

I have rated this 5 star because I thought the process of data input was logical and made it very easy for a first time probate. I’m not an expert and I’m not fully aware of all the features, I would have liked the ability to have a data input set to have in case the probate office raised questions.

Diane McGowan

Amazing, simple to use and worth every penny

I can’t rate YouCanDoProbate more highly. The estate I was dealing with was quite complicated and using a solicitor would have cost thousands. The team talked me through every step and made it easy and simple to complete probate. Any questions I had were answered straight away and I found it all incredibly straightforward and simple to use. This is worth every penny.

Rachel Charalambakis

An excellent service

Really easy to use and an excellent and speedy help line if you have a query. All in all very good value foe money.

Michael Trenerry

Excellent

Superb, easy to follow instructions where data and calculations are generated for you once required fields are inputed. Advise was available quickly , in my case one concise call to Tom( many thanks). The grant of probate was approved by email in one week with no IHT. The formal paperwork takes a further ten days. 5* David

Annabelle

Worth every penny

Worth every penny! Does what it says on the can! Probate took three weeks and two days to be granted from posting the form. Thousands of pounds saved!!!

Fuzz E Bear

Exceptional company

Exceptional company. Made the whole process incredibly easy for me and I had to ask multiple questions at which time there was always someone approachable to ask. I would not hesitate to recommend. Very professional easy to use platform. Cannot thank them enough for their help.

jacqueline fawcett

I was dreading Probate but ‘You Can Do…

I was dreading Probate but ‘You Can Do Probate’ really made things easier. If I had any problems I could request a call to help me with questions. I requested a call about 3 times, and each time somebody call me and sorted out my questions and put my mind as ease. I think I spoke to Tom a couple of times very helpful. You can do bits at a time you don’t have to do the whole thing all at once. Thoroughly recommend. Glad I came across this site.

Anne-Marie

Easy to use for simple estates

Questions were easy to read – specified what information was required. Showed what forms needed to be completed re inheritance tax and how to calculate it etc. Am dealing with a simple estate but was worth the cost for peace of mind – especially when I’ve read people pay solicitors thousands of pounds for the same service

Marie Holdaway

AFFORDABLE FIXED PRICE

Forms filled in for you

No expertise needed

Unlimited UK support

Save money, time and stress with YouCanDoProbate

One time payment

£499

including VAT

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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).