Finding yourself responsible for someone’s estate when they left no will is a common situation. But you can still do probate without a will. This guide walks you through how.

First: make sure there really is no will

Before assuming there is no will, carry out a thorough search:

  • The deceased’s home, including document files, filing cabinets, and lockboxes
  • Their solicitor’s office (call any firm they may have used)
  • Their bank, which may hold a copy
  • The National Will Register at Certainty.co.uk
  • The Probate Service’s will storage (a certificate of deposit would have been issued)

Only once you have exhausted every reasonable search should you proceed on the basis that no will exists.

What happens to the estate without a will?

When someone dies without a valid will, the Rules of Intestacy set out who is entitled to inherit. Broadly, the estate passes first to a surviving spouse or civil partner, then to children, then to other relatives in a defined order. Unmarried partners have no automatic entitlement. Neither do stepchildren unless formally adopted.

Who applies for probate without a will?

Without a will, there is no named executor. Instead, a close relative can apply to become the administrator of the estate. The order of priority broadly follows the intestacy rules: surviving spouse or civil partner first, then children, then other relatives.

How does the application process differ?

Instead of form PA1P (used when there is a will), you complete form PA1A, the probate application form for intestacy cases. You submit it to the Probate Registry along with the relevant HMRC IHT forms, certified copies of the death certificate, and the £526 Probate Registry fee.

How YouCanDoProbate handles intestacy cases

YouCanDoProbate is equally effective for estates with and without a will. The platform’s Intestacy Walkthrough guides you through the family circumstances step by step, confirms who is entitled to what under the Rules of Intestacy, and uses those answers to complete the PA1A and all required HMRC forms automatically.