How estate administration works

Before anything else, you need to register the death — this is a legal requirement within 5 days of death in England and Wales. You'll receive a death certificate, which is the key document you'll need throughout the process.

Order at least 6–10 certified copies of the death certificate. Every institution you contact — banks, pension providers, HMRC — will want an original or certified copy. It's much cheaper to order extras now than to reorder later.

If there's a will, locate it now. Check at home, with any solicitors the deceased used, or search the National Will Register (Certainty). The executor(s) named in the will have the legal authority to administer the estate.

If there's no will, the deceased died 'intestate'. The closest relatives have the right to apply for Letters of Administration — TidyEstate handles both routes.

You need to identify and value everything the deceased owned (assets) and owed (liabilities) at the date of death. This includes property, bank and savings accounts, ISAs, investments, pensions, life insurance, vehicles, personal belongings, and any other assets.

For property, you'll need a formal RICS valuation or an estate agent's written opinion of value at the date of death. Banks and investment platforms will provide date-of-death valuations on request — allow 4–6 weeks for these.

Check whether pensions have a nominated beneficiary (they usually pass outside the estate), and whether life insurance is written in trust (also outside the estate). Both of these reduce the taxable estate.

TidyEstate totals everything up and shows you the net estate value, whether IHT is likely to apply, and whether probate is required.

Inheritance Tax (IHT) is charged at 40% on the part of the estate above the nil-rate band (£325,000). Additional allowances may apply — the residence nil-rate band (up to £175,000 if the home passes to direct descendants) and allowances transferred from a late spouse or civil partner.

Most estates are "excepted": if the estate is within the thresholds you report its values on the probate application itself and no IHT400 is needed. TidyEstate applies HMRC's excepted-estate rules and tells you which route applies.

If the estate is not excepted you must send form IHT400 (with its schedules) to HMRC BEFORE applying for probate. HMRC then posts you a letter with a unique code, usually within 20 working days of receiving the form (or the tax, if paid later). The probate application must quote that code — HMCTS will stop an application without it. TidyEstate calculates the tax and the payment deadline, tracks the code, and (where enabled) fills the IHT400 and schedules from your estate profile.

Banks can pay IHT directly to HMRC from the deceased's accounts before probate under the Direct Payment Scheme — ask the bank.

To transfer or sell assets held in the deceased's name you need legal authority — a Grant of Probate (if there is a will) or Letters of Administration (if there is not).

HMCTS asks personal applicants to apply online where they can; paper forms PA1P (with will) and PA1A (no will) take longer to process. Either way you send the original will (if any), the death certificate and the application fee (£526 for estates over £5,000 (no fee at £5,000 or less)).

TidyEstate gives you every value the application asks for — the IHT figures, the probate values, and HMRC's unique code if an IHT400 was sent — and a checklist of what to post and where. You complete the legal statement and sign yourself.

Track progress through the HMCTS online service.

With the Grant of Probate in hand, you can now formally contact each institution to transfer or close accounts, sell or transfer property, and collect funds.

This involves sending a notification letter to each bank, building society, pension provider, investment platform, insurer, and other relevant organisations, along with a certified copy of the Grant of Probate and a death certificate.

TidyEstate generates personalised notification letters for every institution on your list — individually and as a merged batch PDF for printing. You can track the status of each notification (sent, acknowledged, closed) in the app.

Don't forget: HMRC, DVLA, DWP, the electoral roll, and the passport office all need to be informed. The government's Tell Us Once service handles several of these in one step.

Once all assets are collected and all debts are settled, you can calculate the final distributable estate and distribute it to beneficiaries according to the will (or intestacy rules if there's no will).

Send each beneficiary a written statement showing what they're receiving. Collect a signed receipt from each beneficiary as proof of distribution — this protects you as executor if any dispute arises later.

Prepare final estate accounts showing all receipts, payments, and distributions. This is your record of the administration and protects you if any beneficiary questions the amounts.

Finally, close the executor bank account and your role as executor is complete.