Frequently asked questions

Farra starts at £95 for the Essentials plan, which includes your personalised probate pack — exactly what to file, in what order, with every fee and deadline. The Complete plan is £295 and adds full application review, pre-filled forms, and priority support. Both are one-off payments with no subscriptions or hidden fees.

You can — about 60% of UK probate applications are submitted without a solicitor. The problem is that 1 in 3 applications get sent back by HMCTS for errors, causing months of delays and sometimes financial penalties on inheritance tax. Farra checks your situation against 23 common rejection reasons before you submit, tells you exactly what forms to file in what order, and flags issues before HMCTS does.

Yes. Reasonable administrative expenses incurred during probate — including tools like Farra — can be reclaimed from the estate before distribution to beneficiaries. Keep your receipt as proof of the expense.

Solicitors typically charge £2,000–£10,000 for probate, often on hourly rates with no fixed price. Farra is £95–£295 as a one-off payment. The key difference: Farra is right for straightforward estates where you're comfortable submitting the application yourself. A solicitor is worth the cost for complex cases — significant inheritance tax liability, contested wills, trusts, or assets abroad. Our intake assessment tells you which applies to your situation.

Farra is designed for estates going through probate in England and Wales — typically where the deceased owned property or held bank accounts in their sole name. Answer 15 questions and we'll tell you whether Farra is the right fit, or whether your situation calls for a solicitor. You find out before you pay anything.

Solicitors earn their fees for complex cases. You'll likely need a specialist if the estate involves: significant inheritance tax liability (typically over £50,000 due), complex trusts or business interests, assets abroad, agricultural property requiring relief, or a contested will. Our intake assessment flags these situations upfront.

Our 15-question intake is designed to surface complexity early. If we identify that your situation needs specialist support, we'll tell you before you pay — and point you toward the right kind of help.

For most estates — those under the IHT threshold or with straightforward calculations — yes. Farra guides you through which IHT forms apply and in what order. For complex IHT situations (large liability, agricultural relief, business relief, or multiple trusts), we'll flag that specialist advice is needed.

Yes. If you can send an email, you can use Farra. Everything is step-by-step in plain English. You can email us at support@withfarra.co.uk any time if you get stuck.

You answer 15 questions about the estate — the assets, the relationship, whether there's a will. Takes about 10 minutes. Farra then produces your personalised probate pack: exactly what to file, in what order, with every fee and deadline built around your specific situation. We also check your application against 23 common rejection reasons before you submit.

Your pack tells you which forms to file and in what order, what fees apply, what deadlines to meet, and what to do if anything goes wrong. The Complete plan also includes pre-filled application forms and a full review before submission.

Our guidance is based on current HMCTS and HMRC probate requirements and is reviewed regularly. We provide guidance, not legal advice. For complex estates or when you're uncertain, we'll flag that specialist review is advisable.

Yes. Email support@withfarra.co.uk and we respond within 24 hours on weekdays. For legal advice, we can point you toward qualified solicitors.

Farra currently covers England and Wales, where the probate process is administered by HMCTS. Scotland (confirmation) and Northern Ireland have different processes — we'll let you know if your situation falls outside our coverage.

Yes. We use encryption for all data in transit and at rest. Your information is never sold or shared with third parties. You can request deletion of your data at any time by emailing support@withfarra.co.uk.

We collect information about the estate — assets, relationships, and what you know about the will. This is what we use to build your personalised probate pack. We only collect what's necessary to produce accurate guidance, and you control what you share.

Farra is a probate preparation service for England and Wales. Answer 15 questions and we'll tell you exactly what to file, in what order, and what to do when it gets complicated — from £95.

Producing accurate, personalised probate guidance takes real work — reviewing your situation, checking against HMRC and HMCTS requirements, and flagging the things most likely to go wrong. The fee means we can do that properly, without selling your data or pushing services you don't need.

Usually yes if the deceased owned property or held bank accounts or investments in their sole name above roughly £5,000–£50,000 (the threshold varies by institution). You typically don't need probate if everything was jointly held or the estate is very small. Our intake assessment gives you a clear answer based on your specific situation.

Typically 4–9 months from application to receiving the grant of probate, though straightforward cases can be quicker. Delays most often come from waiting for valuations, HMRC responses, or incorrect applications being sent back — which Farra is specifically designed to help you avoid.

You'll apply for letters of administration instead of probate (in England and Wales). The process is similar, but the estate is distributed according to intestacy rules — spouse first, then children, then other family. Farra covers both testate and intestate estates.

Yes — about 60% of UK probate applications are submitted without solicitors, and it's entirely legal for straightforward estates. Farra sits between DIY and a solicitor: we do the preparation work and tell you exactly what to file, then you submit it yourself online (typically 2 weeks to process) or by post (typically 15 weeks).

Get a medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) from the doctor. This lets you register the death, which must be done within 5 days in England and Wales. Once registered, you can arrange the funeral and begin notifying organisations. Probate typically comes later — usually after the funeral, once you've had time to gather information about the estate.

Most families begin the probate process 4–8 weeks after the death, once the immediate arrangements are done and you have time to gather information about the estate. There's no strict deadline for applying, but inheritance tax (if due) must be paid within 6 months of death — so it's worth starting early if IHT is likely to apply.

That's completely normal. You don't have to figure everything out at once. Probate can wait a few weeks while you focus on what matters most. When you're ready, Farra's 15 questions take about 10 minutes and will give you a clear picture of exactly what needs doing and in what order.