Wills & Probate Solicitors

Losing someone close to you, or thinking about what happens after you’re gone, is never easy. Our role is to take the legal and administrative weight off your shoulders — in plain English where we can, and with full technical precision where it matters — so you can focus on the people around you.

Whether you need a solicitor to write your will, help with probate after a death, guidance on inheritance tax planning, or you’re facing a dispute over a will or estate, this page will point you to the right specialist guidance and the right person to call.

What does "wills and probate" actually mean?

In everyday terms, it’s the legal work involved in:

• Deciding what happens to your money, property and possessions when you die (a will)
• Naming someone you trust to make decisions if you lose capacity (power of attorney)
• Legally administering someone’s estate after death (probate, sometimes called estate administration)
• Reducing the tax paid on an estate (inheritance tax planning)
• Protecting assets for family members, including vulnerable beneficiaries (trusts)
• Resolving disagreements about a will, an inheritance, or how an estate is being handled (contested probate and inheritance disputes)

In professional terms, this is the practice area sometimes referred to as private client law or succession law, covering testamentary capacity, intestacy under the Administration of Estates Act 1925, grants of representation, and Inheritance Tax Act 1984 planning. You don’t need to know any of that to talk to us — we’ll translate as we go — but if you do use that language, our solicitors will understand exactly what you need.

Which service do you need?

• Write or update a will Making a will
• Deal with an estate after a death (probate) Estate administration
• Appoint someone to manage your affairs in future Power of attorney
• Register or act under an LPA where capacity has already been lost Lasting power of attorney solicitors
• Apply to the Court of Protection for a deputy Court of Protection solicitors
• Reduce inheritance tax or plan for the future Inheritance and tax planning
• Protect assets for children, grandchildren or a vulnerable relative Trusts
• Challenge a will, or you think you’ve been left out unfairly Contesting a will or inheritance
• Get help specifically with a contested probate claim Wills & inheritance disputes solicitors

Why more than six in ten adults are getting this wrong

Fewer than four in ten adults in the UK have a valid, up-to-date will. Without one, the law — not you — decides who inherits, under the rules of intestacy. Unmarried partners can receive nothing. Stepchildren can be excluded. Friends and charities you wanted to support can be left out entirely. Making a will is usually the cheapest and simplest piece of legal work you’ll ever commission, and it’s the foundation everything else on this page builds on.

How QualitySolicitors can help

QualitySolicitors is a network of independent, regulated law firms trading under one national brand, with wills and probate specialists at over 100 locations across England and Wales. Many of our member firms hold recognised quality accreditations relevant to this area of law, including the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) where property is involved, STEP membership (Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners) for complex trusts and estates, and Lexcel practice management accreditation. Your local solicitor will confirm which apply to them.

Every solicitor we work with is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and covered by professional indemnity insurance — protections a will-writing service or unregulated adviser cannot offer.

Our services include:

• Writing simple, mirror and trust wills
• Full probate and estate administration
• Lasting and ordinary powers of attorney
• Inheritance tax planning and trust creation
• Contested wills, inheritance disputes and Inheritance Act 1975 claims
• Court of Protection applications and deputyship