Farra is a death administration assistant for UK families. Get step-by-step guidance for registering a death, applying for probate, notifying banks, and managing bereavement admin. From essential documents to practical checklists, Farra simplifies estate paperwork and funeral-related tasks so you can focus on what matters.
This guide has not been checked against its sources
We re-checked our most-read guides against GOV.UK and the other official sources in September 2026. This one was not among them, so nobody has confirmed its figures, deadlines or process steps since it was written. Treat it as a starting point and confirm anything that matters on GOV.UK before you act on it.
You do not need a solicitor to apply for probate. For a straightforward estate — a clear valid will, no inheritance tax to pay, cooperative beneficiaries and UK-based assets — most executors can do it themselves. A solicitor earns their fee on the harder estates: tax payable, complex or overseas assets, no will, or a family dispute brewing. This guide sets out, honestly, which situation you're likely in.
Losing someone is hard enough without a decision that feels like it could go expensively wrong. The good news is that the choice is usually clearer than it looks. Start with the free checker below to see whether a grant of probate is even likely to be needed — then read on to weigh up whether you'd want professional help getting it.
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This is general guidance, not legal advice. Thresholds vary by institution — always confirm with each organisation directly.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. If anything about the estate feels beyond you, that's a perfectly good reason to get help.
Many estates are more ordinary than the person administering them fears. You can usually handle probate yourself when all of the following are true:
If that sounds like your situation, the paperwork is manageable and the saving is real: a solicitor charging a percentage of the estate can cost thousands where the DIY out-of-pocket cost is largely just the £526 application fee (up from £300 on 13 July 2026; there is no fee for estates of £5,000 or less). Our guide to what probate actually costs breaks the numbers down, and the probate cost calculator shows what each route would cost for your estate.
Some estates carry real risk, and here professional help is money well spent — not because the forms are impossible, but because a mistake can be costly and you are personally on the hook for it. Consider a solicitor (or a specialist probate practitioner) when:
None of these means you have done anything wrong. They just mean the estate has features where a steady professional hand reduces your personal risk.
The choice isn't only "expensive solicitor" or "completely alone". A guided do-it-yourself route sits between the two: you stay the executor and keep control, but you follow clear, step-by-step guidance and pre-checked forms for one fixed fee — far less than a solicitor's percentage of the estate. It suits a DIY-suitable estate that nonetheless feels daunting when you're grieving.
Farra is that guided route. We help you understand what needs to happen and prepare it correctly. We are not a law firm and don't give legal advice — where an estate needs a regulated professional, we say so.
First, solicitors aren't the only regulated option. Licensed probate practitioners and some accountants can also apply for probate, and often cost less than a high-street solicitor — always check credentials and get the fee in writing. See our DIY versus solicitor cost comparison for how the fee structures stack up.
Second, and importantly: you remain personally liable as executor either way. Using a professional shifts the technical work and adds their indemnity insurance, but you are still the person legally accountable for the estate. That's exactly why the honest answer to "do I need a solicitor?" is: it depends on where the risk in this estate actually sits.
Not sure whether you even need a grant yet? Try the do I need probate checker, and see what you can safely do yourself.