The probate process
What to Do When You Receive Your Grant of Probate
Receiving your Grant of Probate (or Grant of Letters of Administration) is a significant milestone. It confirms that you have the legal authority to deal with the deceased’s estate. But it is not quite the end of the process. There are several important steps to complete before the estate can be distributed.
Step 1: Get copies of the Grant
When you apply, you will have requested a number of official copies of the Grant at £2 each. Once received, send these to each financial institution, mortgage lender, and investment platform holding assets in the deceased’s name. Banks will not release funds without seeing an official copy, so ordering enough upfront avoids delays.
Step 2: Place a Statutory Notice for Creditors
Before distributing a single penny, place a notice in The Gazette under the Trustee Act 1925. This notifies any unknown creditors of the death and gives them a period of at least two months to come forward with claims. If you skip this step and distribute the estate, then a creditor appears later, you as Executor could be personally liable for that debt. Placing the notice shifts that liability to the Beneficiaries.
Step 3: Collect in the estate assets
Contact every bank, building society, investment platform, pension provider, and other institution holding assets and provide them with the official copy of the Grant. They will then either transfer the funds to an estate account or confirm they are satisfied the legal authority is in place.
Step 4: Pay outstanding debts, bills, and taxes
Before distributing anything to Beneficiaries, pay off all outstanding liabilities:
- Any remaining mortgage or secured loans
- Credit card balances and personal loans
- Utility bills and council tax up to the date of death
- Any outstanding income tax or capital gains tax owed by the deceased
- Funeral costs, if not already settled
Step 5: Seek tax clearance from HMRC
Where IHT, income tax, or capital gains tax has been a factor in the estate, formally request clearance from HMRC before distributing. This confirms there are no outstanding tax liabilities and protects you as Executor from later claims.
Step 6: Prepare estate accounts
Draw up a clear record of everything that has come in and gone out since the date of death. Estate accounts should show all assets collected, all income earned, all debts and expenses paid, and the final balance available for distribution. Beneficiaries are entitled to see the accounts before receiving their share.
Step 7: Distribute the estate
Once debts are cleared and accounts are in order, you can fulfil the wishes set out in the will (or follow the Rules of Intestacy if there is no will). Distribute specific gifts first, then cash legacies, then the residuary estate to the residuary Beneficiaries. Get receipts from Beneficiaries for anything of value.
The easy and affordable way to apply for probate
Related articles
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
Better then spending 1000s on solicitors fees!
Easier to complete than I initially thought.
I had obtained Probate twice before this one so the process was not completely unknown to me. However, since my last effort there have been changes to the process, so I looked for guidance and found YouCanDoProbate and decided to use them and their package. I cannot recommend them highly enough – the package and the support that accompanies it is superb. Thank you so much.
“Does exactly what it says on the tin” I have Absolutely no legal experience and had never done probate before and I found this was a brilliant tool to get the job done. I was going to be charged over £7,000 by a solicitor and the irony is that all the data that you would need to send the solicitor is exactly the same data you need to complete the probate application yourself. Loved this software and saved an absolute fortune!!!!!
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.
Clear, easy to follow information and instructions on the website; helpful, knowledgeable and friendly staff who were quick to respond to all of my queries either on the phone or by email; really speeded up and simplified the process of applying for probate.
It has been a real game-changer streamlined the process and lifted the burden of endless paperwork. It’s straightforward and took away so much stress from dealing with probate during a difficult time. Huge shout out to Tom for his patience and clear guidance; he made everything feel manageable and approachable. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine going through this without their support. We were quoted around £6,000 from lawyers! The Probate Office needs to help us out more by referring everyone to this site!
YouCanDoProbate was great and took you carefully through all the questions & areas that are needed to complete and submit Probate forms and calculate any IHT payable. It may seem a daunting task, but taking it one section at a time, I was able to complete and obtain probate saving thousands in Solicitors fees. Most of the information you are going to have to obtain yourself, even if using a Solicitor.
VERY SIMPLE TO FOLLOW
At such a difficult time we found the whole process so straight forward. From my initial call to explain how the platform works I cannot fault ‘YouCanDoProbate’. From start to finish the platform was so easy to use, the online and telephone support was excellent. Theres no need to rush and complete in a day as the platform saves your progress so it can be completed as and when you’re ready. In comparison with a solicitor the fees are very competitive! Once completed we received probate forms back within 2 weeks. Thanks again!!
Easy to do. Help always available. And it costs a lot less than solicitors. Excellent service.
AFFORDABLE FIXED PRICE
Forms filled in for you
No expertise needed
Unlimited UK support
One time payment
£499
including VAT
Get started in 3 simple steps
Back Guarantee
T&Cs apply.
Monday to Saturday; 9am - 6pm
Trusted & Secure
