Doing Probate Yourself

[goodgoalie]

How realistic is it really to do probate yourself? A friend is over from the USA to do this and I have sent her the links to the relevant gov.uk sites, but she is feeling daunted by it all.

I've found a site online called youcandoprobate.co.uk which charges £325 inc VAT (plus the probate registry fee of £273), has 5 stars on Trustpilot and a freephone number. Has anyone had experience of this company, and, if so, would you recommend I pass on their name to my friend?

[Buenchico]

My father dies in the second half of October. By the end of November, having acquire probate personally, I'd completed everything that was needed, transferred everything into my name (as I was both sole executor and sole beneficiary) and was driving around in a car purchased from my inheritance. The whole thing was incredibly simple and I found the local Probate Registry staff to be exceptionally helpful.

That was back in the days before one could apply for probate online which, from reading posts on previous threads here, now seems to be even simpler.

While the company that you mention might be of some assistance to your friend, they would almost certainly still need to do much of the work on their own anyway, such as contacting pension providers, banks and other financial institution to establish the assets of the deceased person, as well as getting valuations on any properties that they might own.

[goodgoalie]

Thanks for the reply, Chris. I know from your previous posts that you have done probate yourself, but I also know you've had a lot of experience re wills, so would not have been daunted!

From looking at the site I mentioned, it looks like they take you through a sort of 'wizard' with links to all the relevant forms etc, and it certainly would be a lot cheaper than if my friend contacts some random solicitor - she has no contacts at her late father's property, just staying there on her own, and solicitors can be very expensive.

[DocHH]

It is very straightforward, you just need to be methodical. Any company or solicitor you engage will need the executor to provide all the information, so all they are doing is writing the information onto the application form., money for old rope!

[zebo]

When my husband died my daughter and I did it, I had collected together all the details of accounts, investments etc., none of which were needed, just overall figures! Because it was at the start of the first lockdown we had to guesstimate property values with the help of Zoopla.
After we sent it off the email said it could take up to six weeks, it was done and dusted in less than a week. This was at the very start of the first lockdown, we expected it to take far longer. Depending on the complexity of the deceasesd's affair, I would tell anyone to at least give it a go.