Blog
Individual / Wills Trusts & Probate
When someone dies, the person responsible for sorting out their affairs faces a great deal of paperwork, legal responsibility and, often, inheritance tax, all at the hardest of times. Our probate solicitors in Stockport take that burden on for families across Greater Manchester, the North West and nationally, handling as much or as little of the estate administration as you need.
To speak to our team, call 0161 930 5151, email willsteam@gorvins.com or use our online contact form for a confidential, sympathetic discussion.
Probate is the process of proving a will is valid and giving the executors the legal authority to deal with the person’s estate, meaning everything they owned. That authority comes in the form of a document called a grant of probate. Once the executors have the grant, they can collect in the assets, pay any debts and inheritance tax, and distribute what remains to the beneficiaries named in the will.
Where there is no will, the person is said to have died intestate. A close relative applies instead for a grant of letters of administration, which gives similar authority, and the estate is shared out according to the intestacy rules rather than the deceased’s wishes. Together, grants of probate and letters of administration are known as grants of representation. Our team handles both.
Probate is not always required. Whether you need it depends mainly on what the person owned. It is usually needed where the deceased owned property or land in their sole name, or held significant savings, shares or investments. Many banks and other institutions set their own threshold, often somewhere between £5,000 and £50,000, above which they will not release funds without a grant. Assets owned as joint tenants, such as a jointly owned home or a joint bank account, normally pass automatically to the surviving owner and do not form part of the estate that needs a grant. If you are not sure whether probate is needed, we can advise you quickly at the outset.
Administering an estate involves a series of steps that must be done in the right order and with care, because the executors or administrators (together, the personal representatives) are personally responsible for getting it right:
A point that catches many executors out is that inheritance tax generally has to be paid before the grant can be issued, yet the money to pay it is often locked up in the estate until the grant arrives. We help manage that timing, including using arrangements that let tax be paid from the deceased’s accounts or in instalments where property is involved.
Inheritance tax is charged at 40% on the value of an estate above the available allowances, with a reduced 36% rate where at least 10% of the net estate passes to charity. Most estates pay nothing, because they fall within the nil rate band or pass to an exempt beneficiary such as a spouse or charity. Where tax is due, it must usually be paid, at least in part, before the grant issues, and any tax must be reported and paid by the end of the sixth month after death to avoid interest. Our team deals with the inheritance tax reporting as part of the administration, and can advise on reliefs, exemptions and deeds of variation. If you are planning ahead rather than dealing with a death, see our inheritance tax planning service.
Timescales vary considerably. Getting the grant itself has become faster for straightforward online applications, but the full administration of an estate commonly takes between six and twelve months, and longer where there is property to sell, inheritance tax to resolve, foreign assets or any dispute. Applications that are “stopped” by the Probate Registry because something is missing or does not match can add months, which is one reason careful preparation matters.
There is a court application fee to obtain the grant. From 13 July 2026 this is £526 for estates worth more than £5,000, with no fee at all for estates of £5,000 or less. Ordering extra official copies of the grant at the same time as the application costs £2 per copy. These court fees are separate from our own fees for administering the estate. We are transparent about our charges from the outset, and you can see indicative figures on our estate administration pricing page. Because court fees change, always check the current figure on GOV.UK before applying.
Sometimes the administration of an estate is not straightforward: a beneficiary or family member may question the validity of the will, an executor may not be acting properly, or someone may feel they were not adequately provided for. These are matters for our will disputes and contentious probate team, who can advise separately. It is worth knowing that anyone wishing to bring a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 generally has just six months from the date of the grant to do so, which is why executors are often advised to wait out that period before making final distributions.
Gorvins is a Legal 500 recognised firm based in Stockport, advising clients throughout Greater Manchester, Cheshire, the North West and across England and Wales, and recognised in the Chambers guide for private wealth law. Every member of our probate team is STEP qualified or working towards the qualification, the leading professional standard for this work.
We tailor our service to what you actually need. Some clients want us to handle everything from start to finish; others simply need help obtaining the grant and are happy to do the rest themselves. Either way, we explain things in plain English, keep you informed and deal with the estate efficiently and sensitively. Where we have stored the deceased’s will, or where the will was made elsewhere, we can trace it through the National Will Register. We are used to handling estates involving property, businesses, trusts and inheritance tax, as well as intestacies where there is no will at all.
To talk to us about an estate, call 0161 930 5151, email willsteam@gorvins.com or complete our online enquiry form.
Not always. It depends mainly on what the person owned. Probate is usually needed where they owned property in their sole name or held significant savings, shares or investments, as banks and other institutions will often not release larger sums without a grant. Assets owned jointly, such as a jointly owned home, usually pass automatically to the surviving owner and do not need a grant. We can quickly advise whether probate is required in your situation.
Both give legal authority to deal with someone’s estate. A grant of probate is issued to the executors named in a valid will. Where there is no will, or no willing or able executor, a close relative applies instead for a grant of letters of administration and the estate passes under the intestacy rules. The two are together known as grants of representation.
The grant itself can be obtained relatively quickly for straightforward online applications, but administering a whole estate commonly takes between six and twelve months, and longer where there is property to sell, inheritance tax to resolve, foreign assets or a dispute. Applications that the Probate Registry stops because of missing or mismatched information take considerably longer, which is why careful preparation is important.
From 13 July 2026 the court application fee is £526 for estates worth more than £5,000, and there is no fee for estates of £5,000 or less. Extra official copies of the grant ordered at the same time cost £2 each. These court fees are separate from a solicitor’s fees for administering the estate. Because fees change, it is best to check the current figure on GOV.UK before applying.
Usually, yes, at least in part. For taxable estates, inheritance tax generally must be paid before the grant is issued, even though the funds are often tied up in the estate until the grant arrives. Tax must be reported and paid by the end of the sixth month after death to avoid interest. There are ways to manage this, such as paying tax directly from the deceased’s bank accounts or in instalments where property is involved, and we deal with this as part of the administration.
The person is said to have died intestate. A close relative applies for letters of administration, and the estate is shared out according to the strict intestacy rules rather than the deceased’s wishes. These rules can exclude unmarried partners, stepchildren and friends entirely, which sometimes causes hardship or dispute. We can guide administrators through the process and the rules.
Wills, Trust & Probate
