• Probate can take between 6 months and a year to complete in the UK, though more complicated estates can take considerably longer.
• Executors and beneficiaries normally have to wait for the probate process to be completed before they can access estate assets or inheritances.
• If you’re an executor struggling to pay estate costs while you wait, Provira’s Estate Advance can provide access to up to 50% of the net estate value within days.

When someone dies, you don’t just have the emotional impact of losing them to deal with.

Suddenly, there can be tons of paperwork to work through, banks to contact, bills to pay and an estate to sort out. 

And if you’ve never dealt with probate before, you probably have a lot of questions about what happens next.

One of the biggest questions we hear people ask is: how long is all of this going to take?

The answer depends on the estate. Getting a Grant of Probate itself can take a few weeks, while administering the entire estate can take up to a year or sometimes longer, depending on how complicated it is.

The issue is, that wait can cause another problem. The estate might contain a house worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, investments and other assets, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the executor has the cash available to pay Inheritance Tax, legal fees and other costs.

If you are an executor and find yourself in that position, Provira’s Estate Advance can help you access up to 50% of the net estate value within days, without using your own savings or putting your personal assets on the line.

Get in touch with the team to start your application today.

What is probate?

The term ‘probate’ can be used to describe one of two things.

A Grant of Probate is the document that gives an executor the legal right to manage the assets of the deceased. 

Probate itself is the legal process of administering someone’s estate after they die.

That can include:

• Finding and valuing the person’s assets
• Working out what debts they owed
• Calculating and paying Inheritance Tax
• Applying for the Grant of Probate
• Closing bank and investment accounts
• Selling property
• Paying estate bills and debts
• Distributing inheritance to beneficiaries

If there is a will, the job of administering the estate will normally fall to the executor or executors named in it. If someone dies without a will, a person will need to apply for Letters of Administration in order to take on the role instead.

How long does probate take in the UK?

According to the latest Ministry of Justice figures, getting a Grant of Probate between January and March 2026 took around five weeks on average.

Digital applications that were uncomplicated were faster, averaging around two weeks. However, applications that were paused due to needing more information took around 14 weeks on average to come through.

GOV.UK currently says that a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration will usually arrive within 12 weeks of submitting an application, although it can take longer.

However, getting a Grant of Probate is only one part of the probate process. Once it comes through, an executor might still need to sell a house, close accounts, collect investments, pay debts, sort out tax and prepare the final estate accounts.

Only then can the remaining money be shared out to the beneficiaries.

Because of this, it could be months before any money can be distributed. Sometimes, this can take up to a year or longer.

What can make probate take longer?

There isn’t one standard probate timeline because every estate is different. However, some of the most common reasons for delays include:

There is a problem with the probate application

If information is missing or something doesn’t add up, the Probate Registry may stop the application and ask the executor for more information.

This could involve an issue with the will, missing documents or questions about who the executor is.

There is Inheritance Tax to pay

Inheritance Tax can cause a particularly big problem for executors. Generally, it needs to be paid by the end of the sixth month after the person died, only then will the estate receive the Grant of Probate.

The problem is, the executor may need the Grant of Probate before they can access or sell some of the estate’s biggest assets.

That means they can end up in a situation where they need money from the estate to pay the tax, but they need to pay the tax before they can access the estate.

This is one of the most common reasons an executor might consider an Estate Advance.

This is because it allows them to access up to 50% of the net value of the estate, meaning they can pay Inheritance Tax and other estate expenses so they can keep the probate process moving.

You can read more about our Estate Advance here.

Most of the money is tied up in property

An estate can be worth £1 million and still have very little cash available for expenses and taxes.

For example, imagine someone leaves behind a £990,000 house but only £15,000 in their bank account. On paper, that estate is worth over £1 million.

However in reality, the executor may need to pay Inheritance Tax, legal fees, insurance and property maintenance without having enough cash available to do so. 

This is known as an illiquid estate, or an estate that is asset-rich but cash-poor.

A property needs to be sold

Even after probate is granted, selling a property takes time. The house may need clearing or repairing first, then it needs to be valued and marketed, a buyer needs to be found and the sale process has to be completed. If a sale falls through, the wait can become even longer before the cash is available.

There is a dispute

Family disagreements can make an already difficult process much harder. There might be questions about whether the will is valid, disagreements between executors or a claim against the estate.

In those circumstances, executors may need to wait until the issue has been resolved before they can safely distribute any inheritance.

What bills does the estate need to pay before probate is finished?

Unfortunately, estate expenses don’t wait for probate. An executor could find themselves dealing with a number of bills and taxes to pay, including:

• Inheritance Tax
• Funeral costs
• Legal fees
• Accountancy fees
• Property insurance
• Council Tax
• Utility bills
• Mortgage payments
• Property maintenance
• Valuation fees

This can put executors in a really difficult position, but it doesn’t have to.

If there is enough value in the estate but not enough available cash to pay all the expenses, an Estate Advance can allow executors to access that money while probate is being completed.

Provira’s Estate Advance gives executors access to up to 50% of the net value of the estate within days.

There are no personal guarantees, credit checks or monthly repayments, and the advance is repaid directly from the estate when funds become available.

Get in touch with the team to apply.

Can beneficiaries receive their inheritance before probate?

No, normally, beneficiaries will have to wait until the executor is happy that the estate has enough money to cover its taxes and debts before they receive their inheritance.

This is important because an executor who distributes money too early could become personally liable to pay if another bill appears later down the line.

That can be frustrating, especially when probate or a property sale is taking months and you could really use the money now.

This is where Provira’s Inheritance Advance can help.

Our Inheritance Advance allows beneficiaries to access up to 50% of their expected inheritance before the estate is ready to pay it out.

Once the probate process is complete, the advance is simply repaid from their share of the estate.

How Provira can help while you’re waiting for probate

Probate can feel especially frustrating because you often know the money is there, you just can’t access it yet.

For an executor, that can mean being responsible for administering an estate while struggling to find the cash to pay its bills.

For a beneficiary, it can mean knowing you’re due an inheritance but having no idea when you’ll actually get it.

Provira exists to bridge that gap.

Our Estate Advance allows executors to access up to 50% of the net value of the estate to cover estate expenses, without relying on their own savings or credit.

Our Inheritance Advance allows beneficiaries to access part of their inheritance without waiting for the full probate process to complete.

If you are interested in one of our Advances, our compassionate team can explain the options, the costs and exactly how the process works before you make a decision.

Get in touch with Provira today to find out how we can help.