What an executor actually needs before applying for probate

A solicitor who handles estate administration once described the first call with a newly appointed executor in almost identical terms each time. The executor has found the will, they have the death certificate, and they believe they are ready to begin. Within twenty minutes, they learn they are not. The will names them as executor. It does not tell them where the deeds to the property are held, which pension providers need notifying, or whether the life insurance policy was written in trust. That information exists somewhere, scattered across filing cabinets, online accounts, and the memory of a spouse who is now in no state to help.

This is not an unusual situation. It is the ordinary one.

The documents you need before probate can be granted

To apply for a grant of probate in England and Wales, you submit your application to HMCTS through the Government Gateway, alongside the original will, the original death certificate (or a certified copy), and the inheritance tax forms required by HMRC. Whether IHT400 or the simpler IHT205 applies depends on the size and nature of the estate. A probate solicitor or accountant can advise on which is appropriate, because the threshold rules and exemptions are precise and worth understanding before you file.

But the probate application is only one moment in a longer process. To complete the full administration of the estate, the executor needs a considerably wider set of documents.

The will itself. The original, signed, witnessed document. A photocopy is not sufficient for probate. If the will was held by a solicitor, they will release it on proof of death. If it was kept at home, it needs to be found before anything else can proceed.

The death certificate. You will need multiple certified copies, not just one. Banks, pension providers, insurance companies, and the Land Registry each tend to want their own. Order more than you think you need at the point of registration.

A full picture of assets. This means current statements for every bank and building society account, investment and stockbroking accounts, ISAs, and any premium bonds. It means knowing the approximate value of any property in the estate, whether held solely or jointly. And it means identifying any business interests, loans owed to the deceased, and personal property of significant value.

Property deeds and mortgage documents. If the property was registered with HM Land Registry, the title can be confirmed online. But unregistered land still exists, and the physical deeds matter. Mortgage redemption statements will be needed to establish the net equity in the estate.

Pension paperwork. Workplace and personal pensions typically fall outside the estate for probate purposes, but the relevant providers still need notifying. Crucially, the executor needs to know where the deceased's expression of wishes forms are held. These are the documents that guided the pension trustees on who should receive the death benefits. Without them, the trustees will make their own enquiries, which takes time.

Life insurance policies. A policy written in trust pays outside the estate and does not require probate to release the proceeds. A policy not written in trust forms part of the estate and will need to go through the process. Knowing which applies matters enormously to the beneficiaries, and to the IHT calculation.

Liabilities. Outstanding mortgages, personal loans, credit card balances, utility accounts, and any informal debts all need to be identified and settled before the estate can be distributed. Executors have personal liability if they distribute assets while debts remain unpaid and the estate later cannot cover them.

Why most families do not have this ready

The honest reason is that assembling this information requires confronting your own mortality in a sustained and practical way. It is easier to write a will and consider the matter handled. The will is the visible, legible act. The document infrastructure that makes the will executable is invisible until it is suddenly needed.

For families with any complexity, cross-border property, multiple pension providers, business interests, or simply the accumulation of a long financial life, the gap between what the executor needs and what is actually findable can add months to the administration. Those months carry costs: solicitor time, bank account freezes, delayed distributions to beneficiaries who may themselves be managing grief.

The families who fare best are the ones where someone, at some point, decided to keep everything in one place and told the people who would need it where to look. Not a filing cabinet in the study that nobody else knows about. A single, structured record, updated when things change, accessible to the right people at the right moment.

Glenvault is built for exactly that purpose. If you would like to begin, you can create a private family vault at glenvault.com/signup.