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On or before 28th February 2025
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What is probate?

What are Letters of Administration?

Letters of Administration is the legal document issued by the Probate Registry when someone dies without a valid Will. It gives the named administrator the same authority to deal with the estate as a Grant of Probate gives to an Executor. Without it, banks, the Land Registry, and other organisations will not release or transfer the deceased’s assets.

When are Letters of Administration needed?

  • The deceased died without leaving a valid Will
  • A Will exists but there is no Executor named, or no Executor willing and able to act

Who can apply?

The Rules of Intestacy determine who has priority. In England and Wales:

  • A surviving spouse or civil partner comes first
  • Adult children come next if there is no surviving spouse or civil partner
  • Other relatives follow in a defined order

Unmarried partners have no automatic right to apply, regardless of how long the relationship lasted.

How does the application work?

The application uses form PA1A and is submitted to the Probate Registry alongside the death certificate, the completed HMRC IHT forms, and the £526 application fee for estates over £5,000. YouCanDoProbate supports Letters of Administration applications fully, completing the PA1A and all required IHT400 forms automatically.

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Trustpilot five star rating
Very Helpful Experience

At such a difficult and upsetting time, the process was straightforward and clear. The help and responses I received when I raised a couple of queries was excellent. Prompt, patient and supportive.

Janette Sharp
Trustpilot five star rating
Cost effective and comprehensive system

The YouCanDoProbate system is very cost effective, comprehensive and relatively easy to use. Most of the steps through filling in the inheritance tax forms and the probate application are straightforward. Any queries can be raised and are quickly and professionally dealt with. So glad I chose this route as opposed to using a solicitor.

Anne Hodson
Trustpilot five star rating
Having spoken to HMRC for advice…

Having spoken to HMRC for advice following the death of my Mum they told me what forms I needed…. the forms were multiple, long and confusing as where the notes to help you fill in the forms !!! This platform just seemed too good to be true which is what I said to Tom when I phoned to enquire . He was very informative and reassuring about how and why it works and reassured me there is constant support during the whole process of completion. I sat with the HMRC forms one more time, gave up again and then I registered on the platform which took minutes , paid my £499 and I never looked back . It really does all the work for you and yes on the couple of occasions I did need guidance Tom was there calling me back after logging a support call within half an hour . Completed the platform …. Probate forms then all printed off from the information you have already input and then just a trip to the post office to post and then peace of mind !! Now I’m just waiting for it to be processed by the Probate office .

Karen
Trustpilot five star rating
I was quite daunted by the procedure of…

I was quite daunted by the procedure of probate as I’d never been in this position before, but you made the whole process almost easy. Adam was brilliant, if I had a query or was unsure about anything he helped me to understand and navigate the forms successfully. All your staff were efficient, helpful and friendly and I would recommend you to anyone without a moment’s hesitation. Thank you so much

Maureen
Trustpilot five star rating
Easy platform to navigate

Easy platform to navigate, all the totals are done on auto can not fault in any way, once probate and HMRC code completed the grant was issued in less than three weeks.

Rob kemp
Trustpilot five star rating
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
Trustpilot five star rating
Excellent and easy service to use and a great price

We decided to use you can do private after realising how much a solicitor would charge us The forms were easy step by step all information and questions we needed to ask were easily found. The online and telephone support was excellent we are still going through it as takes up to 16 weeks for it to be completed We were very impressed and so would our dad be if he thought it was saving us money

Amanda Gilbert
Trustpilot five star rating
I’ve used the online tool on two…

I’ve used the online tool on two occasions now and personally I believe its the best around. The system is both easy to use and very intuitive and the aftersales is second to none. Well done and congratulations for bring this tool to the masses.

Paul Doherty
Trustpilot five star rating
EASY TO USE AND AFFORDABLE PROBATE SITE

It is an excellent, easy to use site and refreshingly dispenses with having to use a solicitor and avoids their unnecessary high fees.

Mr Crighton
Trustpilot five star rating
I signed up with trepidation having…

I signed up with trepidation having never had to do this before!! However I managed all the form filling with ease and much to my surprise did not have to telephone for help once. I am 70 years of age and would not describe myself as a computer expert in anyway and am a bit of a dinosaur! I would not hesitate to use this service again and will certainly recommend it if asked. For the record I received official notification and paperwork from HMC and Justices that probate had been granted within 21 days of posting the forms. Perhaps I was lucky but this service was idiot proof and saved me the cost of a solicitor.

ken roberts
Trustpilot five star rating
Excellent package

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

mark
Trustpilot five star rating
Posted the completed Probate form and received the Grant of Probate letter 4 working days later…amazing service.

This was the first Probate I’d applied for. Initially, I assumed I’d have no choice but to go via a solicitor who would have asked me to gather all the information required yet charge thousands of pounds for the service. After carrying out further research online, I came across the YouCanDoProbate website, read their Trustpilot reviews and made some other sensible checks. I phoned them and had an initial conversation with Tom who was friendly and knowledgeable and asked several questions about the estate (it was over the individual IHT threshold but would be using the Transferable Nil Rate Band of a pre-deceased spouse) and he confirmed the platform would be able to deal with this. I was a little nervous initially about whether this was the right way forward but decided to go for it, signed up and paid the £499 fee which gave me access to the platform via my usual web browser so no special software needed. From then on, it was a relatively straightforward administrative task of putting in the information required. I loved that it saved all the information so that if I was interrupted or had to stop, I could just go back to it later and pick up where I’d left off. It went through the estate details very logically – personal info of all those involved – the deceased, pre-deceased spouse, executors, beneficiaries then assets, liabilities, expenses, gifts etc. After filling in all the required information, the platform then generated the Estate Summary (in my case showing there was no inheritance tax to pay and confirming that I didn’t have to fill in a separate form to send to HMRC). It had autofilled all the relevant information I’d input in the previous sections and made all the calculations for me with a detailed breakdown as to how the figures were arrived at. When I needed help and a bit of reassurance on 4 occasions via support ticket email, requesting a callback for a specific time or calling directly, Adam and Tom answered my queries quickly and knowledgeably and I was fully reassured that the forms had been completed correctly. Once I was satisfied with the Estate Summary details, I was able to move on and the system generated the autofilled Probate form which I could download and print off for review before signing. If anything needed to be amended, it was possible to go back and do so throughout the entire process before completing one stage and moving on to another. While I chose to complete the forms over the course of several days, I think it would be possible to complete the whole process in a few hours if there were no interruptions. On Thurs 28th May, I posted off the PA1P probate form with all the other relevant documents required including the probate fee postal orders (so no time waiting for a cheque to clear). I used the 1st class Royal Mail tracked service which was delivered the next day. I received an acknowledgement of receipt email on Mon 1 June with a reference number, another email on Tues 2 June confirming that Probate had been approved and, finally, on Thurs 4 June, I received the Grant of Probate letter in the post, 4 working days after sending off the application. I was expecting to have to wait 3 or 4 months for a response and am truly amazed at the speed of the turnaround. I cannot thank YouCanDoProbate enough. It is an amazing service, worth every penny of the £499 cost and I highly recommend it.

JA
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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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