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Probate cost for a £100,000 estate

What probate costs on a £100,000 estate in 2026 — the fixed government fee and the typical professional fees, three ways. England & Wales.

✓ Fees verified against GOV.UK 3 Sept 2026
Three ways to pay · cheapest first
Do it yourself
£532
Government fee £526 + 3 sealed copies at £2. No legal requirement to use a solicitor.
Grant-only help
£1,400
A professional gets the grant, you administer the rest. Typically £900 – £1,800 + VAT.
Full administration
£3,000
A professional handles everything. Typically £2,000 – £4,000 + VAT for a straightforward estate.

The fixed part is the same whatever the estate is worth: £526 to apply (estates over £5,000) plus £2 per sealed copy. The variable part is whether you pay for professional help. A smaller estate with few assets is usually a straightforward administration, which sits at the lower end of professional fees — and is the most realistic to do yourself. A £100,000 estate is almost always an “excepted estate” with no Inheritance Tax account to submit.

Open the full calculator with £100,000 loaded→
Add the property, accounts, beneficiaries and whether IHT is likely to get a figure tuned to your estate.
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What changes the cost on a £100,000 estate

Whether inheritance tax is due.

If the estate needs a full IHT400 account, there's far more work — which pushes professional fees toward the higher band.

Property.

A house to value, insure and sell or transfer adds time and cost; multiple properties add more.

How many institutions hold money.

Each bank, pension or investment provider is a separate set of forms and a separate wait.

The will and the beneficiaries.

A clear will and a few adult beneficiaries is simple; no will, trusts, or minors and missing heirs is not.

Whether you do it yourself.

For a straightforward estate, doing it yourself for the £532 government cost is realistic for an organised executor.

FAQ

Questions about a £100,000 estate

For a £100,000 estate in England & Wales (2026) the fixed government cost is £526 to apply, plus £2 for each sealed copy of the grant — so doing it yourself costs roughly £532.

If you use a professional, grant-only help typically runs £900 – £1,800 + VAT and full estate administration typically runs £2,000 – £4,000 + VAT, because an estate this size is almost always an “excepted estate” with no Inheritance Tax account to submit.
Yes. The probate registry application fee is a flat £526 for any estate worth more than £5,000 (estates of £5,000 or less pay nothing).

It does not scale with the value of the estate. Sealed copies of the grant are £2 each.
No — there is no legal requirement to use a solicitor. You can apply for probate yourself for just the government fee.

Professional help is a choice, usually made when the estate is complex, when inheritance tax is due, or when the executors simply don't have the time. A smaller estate with few assets is usually a straightforward administration, which sits at the lower end of professional fees — and is the most realistic to do yourself.
Probate cost for other estate sizes
£250,000 estate£350,000 estate£500,000 estate£600,000 estate£750,000 estate£800,000 estate£1,000,000 estate£1,500,000 estate£2,000,000 estate
Back to the full Probate Cost Calculator
Related reading
What is probate?
The full grant process, start to finish
Inheritance tax calculator
Check the tax position for this estate
Selling a house during probate
What you can do before the grant arrives
Deed of variation
Redirect an inheritance within 2 years
Executor's First Hour · £179
The full sequence, timed
Government fees are current for 2026 (England & Wales) and verified against GOV.UK on 3 Sept 2026. Professional fees are typical market ranges scaled to a straightforward estate, not a quote — actual costs depend on the estate's specifics. This is informational only and not legal advice.
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