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.
The easy and affordable way to apply for probate
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So, so easy. I wish I had found sooner as I put off doing probate thinking it would be bad but it was fine. I got a bit stuck and had a quick call and then all went through smoothly. Thank you, I would definitely recommend to all.
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Excellent service received from You Can Do Probate. The staff were very helpful and friendly.
Looked carefully at online support for undertaking probate and decided to use this company due to the consistently high Trustpilot feedback. It did not disappoint. The process is easy to follow, excellent support documentation and I made use of the Support telephone service once – which was prompt and helpful.
I would highly recommend this service, they go above and beyond to make sure you understand and can complete, they take away any hassle or concern, would give more than 5 stars if I could
Highly recommend this company. The intuitive software is easy to use and the friendly and professional telephone support is excellent. On the advise of the team I posted off my documents as I had considered using the government online form assuming it may be quicker! However Probate was granted in 15 days from when I posted my documents. Thank you to all the team at You Can Do Probate for making a stressful and emotional task much easier to navigate without the need of expensive solicitors! Nb The only improvement that I feel would be beneficial is the function to print the breakdown of all the values and calculations
My wife and I are sensible, educated and technical people but the probate system via the HMRC/Gov websites just left us confused. We searched for help and YouCanDoProbate appeared on a search. Reviews were good so thought we should try it out. It really has been the best money spent. The step by step process which then completes all the forms you require, not being able to proceed until the previous step is ready and the general hand-holding is excellent. I used the telephone support once for a quick a question, which was answered perfectly. Really appreciate the help during a testing time. Have already recommended and will continue to do so.
I am a qualified accountant (although not a tax specialist, so no IHT experience), but even had that not been the case I’m sure I would have found the software easy and intuitive to follow. Helpline queries were answered very quickly and helpfully (within 24 hours). Absolutely didn’t need a solicitor. All 13 IHT forms were generated for me which I’d never have been able to do without help. I decided to apply for the probate certificate online to save time and just took the printout from the software and replicated it on the probate portal – again very easy.
Throughout the process, every time we were unsure of something a representative (Tom) of Youcando Probate was at the end of the phone and could not have been more helpful. The whole process was easy and quick to complete.
When life is at its trickiest and you are expected to be able to navigate probate, this service takes all the hassle out of it. The helpline and email responses are quick and so helpful. It is such good value for money.
simple system and help available if needede
Straightforward and easy to use system. Definitely recommended.
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