Everything here is written for an executor in England and Wales who is doing this themselves, for the first time, while grieving. Every figure and deadline traces to a GOV.UK, HMRC or HMCTS source, and each guide says which one and when we checked it.
For deaths on or after 1 January 2022 the answer is usually neither: IHT205 no longer exists for those deaths, and most estates send no tax form at all.
You can apply for probate yourself, online or by post. Here is the full process, what it costs, how long it takes, and when to hand it to a solicitor instead.
Many estates never need a grant of probate. Here is how to check, asset by asset, before you spend £526 and three months finding out.
The court usually issues the grant within 12 weeks. But that is one stage of a job that often runs six to twelve months. The honest timeline, stage by stage.
The court fee is £526. Solicitors charge thousands. Here is every cost in a probate application, what is optional, and how to get the fee waived.
Valuing the estate is the longest part of probate. How to do it asset by asset, what evidence to keep, and the mistakes that cause HMRC queries.
One question decides it: was there a will? PA1P if yes, PA1A if no. Here is what each form asks, who can sign it, and the edge cases that catch people out.
An excepted estate needs no full Inheritance Tax account: you self-certify the values on the probate form. The conditions, with HMRC's actual limits.
A calm, ordered list of what actually has to happen after a death in England and Wales, what can wait, and the two deadlines that matter.
When someone dies intestate, the law decides who may apply and who inherits. The order of priority, the statutory legacy, and how to apply on PA1A.