Anyone applied for probate this year?

[treesall]

Can anyone share any recent ish experiences of how long it took for probate to be granted after the application was submitted?

I know it’s a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question, but I’m just looking for recent examples as a guide.

The .gov site still says 16 weeks but I know they announced earlier this year that processing times have halved, and I’ve seen the odd comment that it can be granted in 4 weeks in some cases.

IHT is all paid, and it’s a fairly straight forward estate - one property, no foreign assets etc. I finally submitted the probate application last week.

I’m sole executor so have lots to sort out and I’m just trying to get a feel for what the timelines could look like.

Thank you for anything you can share!

we applied and within 2 weeks it was approved , we applied online .
it's taking less than 16 weeks (if everything is straight forward ) . They have cleared the backlog (

Watching with interest as in the same boat, solicitor just completed everything assets and debts.

We applied last August soon after my beloved mum died, and it took until March to have it approved. It was straightforward but to be fair, my lovely dad, knee-deep in grief, sent off a copy of the will (he thought it was the original) rather than the original, so it was our error, but the probate service didn't tell us til Jan. Once we'd sent the original, it came back approved in about 10 days.
My learning from this process is that applying for probate isn't something older people in grief should tackle without lots of support.

Friend applied just before Christmas following IHT submission. Granted 2 week later at the beginning of January.

Thanks all, that’s really helpful. Sounds like I might need to be prepared for the next steps sooner than I expected if everything goes smoothly.

I’m so sorry for you all for the losses you’ve experienced.

@MargaritaPracticallyCanI agree, it’s hard for someone who is grieving to get through all the paperwork, especially if they are older and even more so if they aren’t used to admin / paperwork etc.

its taken me a few months to get through all the steps needed to be able to submit IHT400 as whilst none of it was particularly complicated, it needed so many phone calls etc chasing banks, or liaising with other companies, organisations, sorting out cars and insurances etc, and fitting it in around work has slowed it down. My own choice though as I haven’t used a solicitor.

Applied 2 Jan and got the letter on the 6th. Unbelievable really.

Wow @OminousFlutethats incredibly fast!

the documents should have arrived with them on Thursday and it still says waiting for them so I can’t see that this one is going to be that quick!

Is it an online application?

We're finding they're taking about a fortnight atm.

@CharlotteStreetW1yes it was all online. Thank you. A fortnight is a lot less than I expected. Fingers crossed.

Just closing this out in case it’s useful for others. Got the email this morning saying documents had been received and then a few hours later confirmation probate has been granted, so I just need to wait for it to come in the post. less than two weeks!