As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly apply for probate online.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 30 minutes until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open the GOV.UK probate application service and confirm which UK jurisdiction and probate route applies before using a chatbot.
   2. Gather the will, codicils, death certificate information, executor details, estate asset and debt records, inheritance tax correspondence and details of any joint or overseas assets.
   3. Paste the prompt into a chatbot and replace each bracketed slot with the facts you have, omitting account numbers, passwords and other unnecessary personal data.
   4. Use the response to make a document checklist and a draft list of form answers, then mark every item labelled [CONFIRM] for checking.
   5. Compare each draft answer and document requirement with the current GOV.UK probate guidance and the questions in the official application before entering anything.
   6. Enter the information yourself in the official GOV.UK service, save evidence of what you submitted, and ask a probate solicitor about any disputed, missing, unusual or uncertain issue before making the declaration.

   Prompt

   I need help preparing to apply for probate in England and Wales through the official GOV.UK service. Do not submit anything, make a legal decision for me, or invent facts. Use only the information I provide and clearly mark anything missing, uncertain or needing confirmation from GOV.UK or a solicitor. As at 2026-08-13, help me with the following:
   
   1. Identify the information and documents I need to gather for the application.
   2. Turn my facts into a draft checklist of answers for the official online form, keeping the wording neutral and showing [CONFIRM] beside every answer I must check myself.
   3. Flag issues that may make the standard online route unsuitable, including a missing or disputed will, more than one executor, a change in executor circumstances, jointly owned assets, overseas assets, inheritance tax questions, an intestacy issue, or any dispute.
   4. Give me a short list of questions to ask a probate solicitor if any flagged issue applies.
   5. Separate information that can be checked against GOV.UK from legal judgements that need a solicitor.
   
   My situation:
   - Jurisdiction and place where the application will be made: [England and Wales, Northern Ireland, or other]
   - Date of death: [date]
   - Will found: [yes/no/uncertain]
   - Executors named in the will: [details]
   - Executors who can and will apply: [details]
   - Any executor who has died, lost capacity, cannot be found, or does not want to act: [details]
   - Estate assets and approximate values: [list]
   - Debts and liabilities: [list]
   - Joint assets or property: [details]
   - Gifts or assets outside the UK: [details]
   - Inheritance Tax position or correspondence with HMRC: [details]
   - Any disagreement about the will or estate: [details]
   - Documents already available: [list]
   
   Do not reproduce full bank account numbers, National Insurance numbers, passwords or other unnecessary personal data.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.