Estate administration · England & Wales
Probate, made calmer.
A plain-English, step-by-step guide through estate administration. From registering the death to distributing the estate — we handle the paperwork so you can focus on what matters.
Free to start. No subscription. One-time £79 fee when you generate official forms.
TidyEstate provides guided tools and information — not legal advice. We are not solicitors.
Free to start
Pay only when generating forms
Plain English
No legal jargon or confusing forms
UK data residency
All data stored in London (eu-west-2)
England & Wales only
Built for UK probate law — no surprises
The process
Six phases. One guided checklist.
Estate administration follows a fixed sequence. TidyEstate walks you through each phase with the right tasks, deadlines, and forms — in order.
01
Registration
Register the death, obtain death certificates, locate the will. Legal requirement: register within 5 days.
02
Estate valuation
Add all assets and liabilities. The app calculates the gross estate, net estate, and whether IHT is likely to apply.
03
Inheritance Tax
Calculate IHT due, find out whether the estate is excepted or needs a full IHT400, and which schedules apply. Track the payment deadline (end of the sixth month after the month of death).
04
Probate application
We prepare every answer GOV.UK's online probate application will ask for — names, dates, the tax figures, the probate values, HMRC's code — so you can apply yourself in one sitting, and tell you exactly what to post afterwards.
05
Asset collection
Generate notification letters to banks, HMRC, pension providers, and other institutions. Track responses in one place.
06
Distribution
Calculate the final distributable estate. Distribute to beneficiaries, collect receipts, close the executor account.
What’s included
Free to start. Unlock when ready.
Free
£0
No credit card needed
- ✓Estate profile — assets, liabilities, beneficiaries and lifetime gifts
- ✓Inheritance Tax calculator — with NRB, RNRB, exemptions and the excepted-estate check
- ✓Full task list in the legal order, with deadlines and email reminders
- ✓Secure document storage in UK data centres (London) — death certificate, will, grant, correspondence
- ✓Invite co-executors to share the case
- ✓Flags for complex estates that need professional help
- ✓Plain-English probate guides
Paid · one-time
£79 per case
No subscription. Pay once, per estate.
- ✓Every answer for the GOV.UK online probate application, prepared from your estate — you copy them in and submit yourself
- ✓Bulk-generate institution notification letters (banks, HMRC, DVLA, pension providers) as one printable PDF
- ✓Everything in the free tier
No payment until you generate documents
Also available: Will writing product (£59) — available after estate administration.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
- Does TidyEstate replace a solicitor?
- No. TidyEstate is not a solicitor and does not provide legal advice. For straightforward estates, most executors can administer an estate themselves using our guided tools. For complex cases — such as contested wills, significant foreign assets, or business interests — we'll flag the complexity clearly and recommend you speak to a regulated probate solicitor.
- How much does TidyEstate cost?
- It's free to start. You can build your estate profile, calculate Inheritance Tax, follow the full task list, store your paperwork securely and invite co-executors at no cost. When you're ready to generate documents — your probate application answers and institution letters — there's a one-time £79 fee per case, with no subscription.
- Do I always need to apply for probate?
- Not always. Probate isn't needed for small estates (many banks won't require it below £5,000–£25,000, depending on the institution), or for jointly owned assets that pass automatically to the surviving owner. Our app will tell you whether probate is likely required based on your specific estate details.
- Can I use TidyEstate if there's no will?
- Yes. If the deceased didn't leave a valid will, they died 'intestate'. You apply for Letters of Administration (form PA1A) instead of a Grant of Probate (form PA1P). TidyEstate handles both routes — just tell the app whether a will exists when you set up your case.
- How long does probate take?
- HMCTS issues a Grant of Probate usually within 12 weeks of a correctly completed application — HMCTS recently reported around 5 weeks. The full estate administration process — valuation, IHT, asset collection, and distribution — typically takes 6–12 months for a straightforward estate, or longer for complex ones.
- Is my data safe?
- All data is stored in UK data centres (eu-west-2, London) under UK GDPR. We use Supabase for encrypted storage and Supabase Auth for secure login. No personally identifiable information is included in application logs. You can export your data or delete your account at any time from account settings.
- What if the estate has foreign assets or a business interest?
- TidyEstate is designed for straightforward UK estates. If the estate includes significant foreign assets, business interests, or trusts, the app will detect this and show a clear warning. We'll recommend you speak to a regulated probate solicitor who handles complex estates, and point you to the Law Society's Find a Solicitor service.
- Can I invite another executor to help?
- Yes. If you're not the only executor, you can invite co-executors by email from within the app. They'll get their own account and full access to the case — tasks, documents, and asset data — so you can share the workload.
Ready to get started?
Create a free account. No credit card required. You only pay when you’re ready to generate documents.