Being an executor usually arrives at the worst possible moment. You are grieving, and suddenly you are also responsible for someone's entire financial life. It is not enormous once you break it down: it is a sequence of ordinary tasks, done one at a time, and most people manage it without drama.
The first practical step, done before anything else can move. Once the will is found, the next task is building a picture of the estate: what the person owned, what they owed, and what it is all worth at the date of death.
That valuation decides whether inheritance tax is due. Most estates pay none, because everything up to the £325,000 nil rate band is tax free, with further allowances for a home left to children or grandchildren and for anything left to a spouse or civil partner.
If tax is due, it is charged at 40% on the part above the available allowances, and it generally has to be paid, or started, before probate is granted.
The probate application fee is £526 for estates over £5,000 (up from £300 on 13 July 2026), and for many estates you can apply yourself online without paying anyone. Whether you should depends on how complicated things are.
Our calculators give you the numbers: what the estate might owe, what probate might cost, whether you are near a tax threshold.
Our guides walk each stage in order, in plain English, from registering the death through to final distribution.
If the estate turns out to be genuinely complex, with trusts, businesses or disputes, we can connect you with a vetted probate specialist. No pressure either way.
Book a free call. We will talk through your position and whether there is anything worth changing. No hard sell, no obligation.