Part 4: Setting realistic expectations about probate

One of the simplest ways advisers can improve a client’s experience during probate is by helping them understand what lies ahead. In my experience, many of the frustrations families experience don’t arise because something has gone wrong. More often, they arise because the process is more involved and takes considerably longer than people expected.

I also find that people often use the word “probate” to describe the entire administration of an estate, when in reality the Grant of Probate is simply the point at which the executor receives the legal authority to begin administering it. Before that can happen, information has to be gathered, assets valued, inheritance tax considered where appropriate and the application completed accurately. Only then can the wider administration of the estate begin.

I don’t think advisers need to become experts in every stage of that process, and I’d probably encourage them not to try. Probate is a specialist discipline in exactly the same way that financial planning, mortgage advice or legal work are specialist disciplines. Good advisers understand where their own expertise adds value and where another professional should become involved. If an estate includes business interests, multiple properties, substantial investments or more complicated family circumstances, encouraging the client to seek specialist probate advice is often one of the most valuable recommendations they can make.

That isn’t simply because probate can be technically demanding. It’s because mistakes can become expensive. Missing an inheritance tax allowance, overlooking an available relief or submitting an incomplete application can all create unnecessary cost or delay. Neither HMRC nor the Probate Registry is there to optimise the outcome for the family. Their role is to administer the system, not to identify allowances or planning opportunities that may have been overlooked. Getting the right advice at the outset is often worth considerably more than the professional fees involved.

I also think it’s important to distinguish between estate planning and estate administration because clients will often blur the two together. It’s not unusual for families to say they wish they’d known about a particular inheritance tax planning opportunity once probate has already begun. In many cases, those opportunities were entirely valid, but they needed to be implemented while the person was still alive. Once someone has died, the estate is effectively assessed based on its position at the date of death. From that point onwards, the focus shifts from planning the estate to administering it as efficiently and accurately as possible.

That doesn’t make the adviser’s role any less important. If anything, I think it becomes even more valuable. Advisers are often the people best placed to recognise that an estate is unlikely to be straightforward, to encourage clients to seek specialist advice early and to reassure families that delays are not necessarily a sign that something has gone wrong. Sometimes, simply helping clients understand why the process takes time removes a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.

It also creates an opportunity to ask a different set of questions. Once clients understand that probate is likely to take time, advisers can begin exploring what that means in practice. Are there financial commitments that can’t wait? Is inheritance tax going to become an immediate issue? Are important plans likely to be delayed simply because assets can’t yet be accessed? Those are often the moments when estate or inheritance advances become relevant, not because probate has failed, but because the legal process and the family’s financial needs are working to different timescales.

Helping clients develop realistic expectations about probate isn’t simply about preparing them for what lies ahead. It also allows advisers to have more constructive conversations about the choices available while the legal process runs its course, ensuring clients understand both the challenges they may face and the options that may be available to them.