Independent · Primary-sourced · England & Wales
estatecosts.

The cost of settling an estate, plainly reckoned.

The Probate Registry, plainly

What does it cost to settle an estate?

One fee is fixed by the Crown and published; the rest is variable, and often optional. We set the two apart, source every figure to its origin, and note the day it was last true.

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Engraving: a hand offering £526 in coins before the HMCTS Probate Registry, with a queue of people
Plate I. — The application fee
The fixed fee, corrected

Risen from £300 to £526 on 13 July 2026

Engraving: a compass drawing the probate fee rising from £300 to £526
Plate II. — HMCTS fee, before and after
Start here

Probate cost is really two costs

Engraving: fixed government fee versus variable professional fees
Plate III. — Fixed & variable fees

Four reckonings

I.

Probate cost

The Crown’s fee, solicitors’ charges, valuations — separated and sourced.

Reckon it II.

Estate administration

What it costs to gather, settle and distribute an estate.

Reckon it III.

Wills

From a £90 online will to a solicitor’s hand — and when each is wise.

Reckon it IV.

Inheritance tax

Bands, reliefs, and the 2027 change drawing pensions into the estate.

Reckon it

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“Every figure is drawn from its origin — GOV.UK, His Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service, HMRC and the statutes — and dated to the day it was last true. Where a figure cannot be verified, we leave it blank rather than invent it.”