Grant of Probate · execution-only
A fixed-price service for executors who want the legal application done by a solicitor, without paying for full estate administration. You handle the gathering and the distribution; we handle the grant.
Whether you're acting now, planning ahead, or helping someone else, the response is the same. There is no penalty for getting in touch and then deciding it is not the right time, or that another route is better.
Most people who land on this page are executors of an estate where the work splits cleanly. The assets are identifiable, the beneficiaries are known, the Will is in order — but a Grant of Probate is needed before the bank, the share registrar, or the conveyancer will release anything. The grant is the legal key, and applying for it is paperwork best handled by a solicitor.
That is what grant-only probate is for.
You do the practical work: notifying the asset holders, valuing the estate, dealing with the beneficiaries. We do the legal application: the IHT return (IHT400 or the shorter IHT205 where eligible), the formal grant application, and the submission to the Probate Registry. When the sealed grant arrives, we forward it to you and step back. You then use it to release the assets and distribute the estate.
It is the right scope for a great many executors. It is not the right scope for everyone. If the estate is contested, contains a foreign element you are not sure how to handle, or you would simply prefer a solicitor to manage the whole thing, the right service is full estate administration rather than grant-only. The premium panel near the foot of the page links across.
Grant-only is a deliberately tight scope. The price is fixed because the work is bounded. Knowing what is and is not in the scope before you instruct is the point.
Included
Not included
If the scope changes once we have started: we will tell you, in writing, what has changed and what it costs to address. We do not let the meter run silently. If the estate turns out to be more complex than the engagement letter assumed (a foreign asset, a contested claim, an unexpected trust), the next step is a conversation, not an invoice.
The free Probate Navigator is a ten-minute diagnostic that walks you through the estate's circumstances and tells you whether grant-only fits, or whether one of the more involved services is the better choice. If you'd rather talk it through, the 20-minute call is the place.
Run the Probate NavigatorGrant-only is paperwork-shaped work. Most matters complete within the Probate Registry's standard issuing time once HMRC has cleared the IHT return.
Send the form below. Within two working days you receive a written engagement letter with the fixed price, the scope, and a list of the estate information we need from you.
You send through the Will, the death certificate, and an estate summary using the template we provide. A short call confirms the IHT route (IHT400 or IHT205) and any unusual features.
The solicitor prepares the IHT return, files it with HMRC, and prepares the Statement of Truth and Grant application for the Probate Registry.
The Probate Registry issues the grant. We forward it to you. You then use it to release the estate's assets, settle debts, and distribute to the beneficiaries.
Grant-only is an Arvéla service. The IHT return and the grant application are prepared by an experienced private client solicitor, not a paralegal team. The standard of work is the same standard a private client of any traditional firm would receive, at a price that is fixed up front.
The regulated legal work is delivered by Arvéla's chosen legal service provider. When you instruct, you do so under their engagement letter, which sets out the scope, the fixed price, and the timeline before any work starts. See Your Legal Services for current provider details.
Arvéla is a trading name of Cascade Legal Ltd, the consumer brand for the guides, the Companion, and the diagnostic tools. Read more about how it all fits together.
A short form. Once submitted, we will respond within two working days with an engagement letter setting out exactly what is included and the fixed price. No payment is taken until you have read and accepted the engagement letter.
We will respond within two working days with an engagement letter setting out exactly what is included and the fixed price. Watch for an email from hello@arvela.uk.
If grant-only isn't the right scope
Grant-only is the right starting point when the estate is straightforward and you are willing to handle the asset gathering yourself. If the estate is complex, contested, contains a foreign element, or you would simply prefer a solicitor to manage the whole process, the right service is full estate administration — the standalone fixed fee for that is from £5,499.99 + VAT. The engagement letter will tell you which scope fits before you commit.
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