Free calculators and clear guides for anyone dealing with a death, planning a will, or checking whether the April 2027 pension changes affect their family. No jargon, no appointments, no pressure.
Estimate inheritance tax, check your nil rate bands, and see what probate might cost. Every calculator uses current HMRC figures for 2026/27, including the £325,000 nil rate band and £175,000 residence nil rate band, and shows its working so you can see exactly how the numbers fall.
Probate and estate planning are wrapped in language nobody uses in real life. Our guides translate it. Each one is written from gov.uk, HMRC and HMCTS source material, dated, and reviewed when the rules change.
From 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits are due to count as part of your estate for inheritance tax. For many families this is the single biggest change to estate planning in a generation, and plenty of people who have never thought about inheritance tax will be drawn in. Our 2027 pension exposure checker shows whether your family is likely to be affected and by roughly how much.
Check your 2027 exposureWe are accountants, not a law firm. If your situation needs professional hands, our estate specialists cover the money side of wills, probate and estate planning, and where you need a solicitor we work alongside a regulated firm.
How much tax, how much will probate cost, how much can we pass on tax free. Pick the calculator that matches your question. Each takes a few minutes, needs no sign-up, and explains its result in plain English.
See how much extra inheritance tax your estate could owe once unused pension pots count towards it from April 2027.
Estimate how many months probate is likely to take for this estate, stage by stage.
Work out your combined nil-rate band and residence nil-rate band, and the inheritance tax due on the excess.
Get an itemised estimate of what probate is likely to cost, whether you go DIY, fixed-fee or use a solicitor.
Answer a few questions about the estate to see whether probate is likely to be needed.
Compare the cost and time of handling probate yourself against using a fixed-fee or full solicitor service.
Probate and inheritance tax work the same way in principle, but the reliefs, allowances and pitfalls differ by circumstance. We know the specifics.
Built on official sources: gov.uk, HMRC and HMCTS. Figures current for the 2026/27 tax year. Estate Planning Specialists is a trading name of Ashfield Trading Ltd. We are accountants, not solicitors or financial advisers; nothing here is legal or regulated financial advice.
Some estates are simple. Many are not: blended families, business assets, property abroad, pensions after April 2027. If you would like a professional to look at your situation, tell us a little about it and one of our estate planning specialists will take a look. It costs you nothing to ask, and there is no obligation.
Plain English articles on probate applications, estate valuation, inheritance tax and wills, written from gov.uk, HMRC and HMCTS source material.