How Long Does Probate Take?
The question of how long Probate takes is not necessarily an easy one to answer. It can depend on various factors.
At the time of writing the Probate Registry state you will usually get the Grant of Representation within 12 weeks of submitting the application. They also state that it may take longer if you need to provide additional information.
In practice, however, we are often receiving Grants of Representation ahead of schedule. In February 2025 HM Courts & Tribunals Service announced that wait times in December 2024 were just over 4 weeks on average, compared to a 12 week average in the previous December.
There are some factors that may impact how quickly you can reach the stage of applying for the Grant of Representation. These include:
Inheritance Tax
In order to receive the Grant you must have dealt with any inheritance tax issues. Once HMRC are satisfied the inheritance tax has been dealt with, they will confirm you can proceed with the Grant of Representation application. Naturally, this additional step will increase your timescales.
Estate Complexity
When submitting your Grant application, you are confirming various details about the Estate, including the financial values of all assets. If there are complicated assets, this may not be straightforward. For example, if someone owned one property and had one bank account, it should be fairly simple to obtain the values quickly. If, however, someone owned various properties, businesses, shareholdings and lots of different bank accounts, it will likely take far longer to get everything valued.
Disputes
If there are disagreements regarding a Will or somebody’s entitlement, this could add significant delays. If matters cannot progress until a dispute has been resolved, this could easily delay the process by months if not years.
In a nutshell, there are three steps to the Probate process:
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Gathering information regarding the Estate and applying for the Grant of Representation;
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Using the Grant of Representation to administer and manage the Estate;
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Distributing the assets once all administration has been completed.
It is quite common for steps 1 to 3 to take at least 12 months, and depending on the complexity of the Estate (such as the factors listed above), it may take longer.
If you believe you have a situation where you require legal advice, please contact us on telephone 0116 212 1000 or 01858 445 480, alternatively complete the free Contact Us form and we will get in touch as soon as possible..
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