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As of 13 August 2026, AI cannot get a grant of probate as an executor.
This still needs a person who signs their name to it.
Can you do it?
15 minutesto a draft.
n/ait cannot be self-verified.
Cost, all in£0
Skill neededchat-fluent
Who has to check ita professional
What the alternative costsNo priced solicitor or probate service is supplied in the available tool data.
If this goes wrong, you can submit the wrong information or miss an estate issue, causing delay, extra work or personal legal and financial consequences as executor.
What to actually do
Hand it to a person
The route this page recommends
Someone with a licence or accountable authority has to sign this before it counts.
Use a tool built for this
Second choiceDo it yourself
The distant thirdA chat interface gets you a draft, but you cannot verify it yourself. That is the catch.
How to actually do it
- Open the official probate guidance for the relevant UK jurisdiction at https://www.gov.uk and note which application route and supporting information it names.
- Gather the will and any codicils, the death certificate, executor details, asset and debt records, funeral costs, gifts, trust information and records of any earlier deaths or probate applications.
- Separate confidential identifiers from the working material, then paste the redacted documents and official guidance into the prompt.
- Ask the chatbot to produce the checklist, evidence table and list of unresolved issues, and keep every value and date tied to a document you supplied.
- Compare each item in the chatbot's checklist with the relevant GOV.UK probate and inheritance tax pages, and mark anything the official guidance does not confirm.
- Take unresolved, unusual or high-value matters to a probate solicitor or tax adviser before completing the official application.
- Complete and submit the application only through the official government process, using the documents and answers you have independently checked.
Prompt
I am an executor dealing with an estate in England and Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland: [state the jurisdiction]. Help me prepare for the official process for obtaining a grant of probate, but do not give professional advice, decide which legal or inheritance tax route applies, or tell me that an application is ready to submit. Use only the current GOV.UK or other official government information that I paste below, and clearly label anything that is missing, uncertain or needs a solicitor or tax adviser. Create: 1. a document and information checklist; 2. a plain-English list of questions I must answer; 3. a table matching each question to the evidence I should use; 4. a list of issues that could require professional advice; and 5. a final checklist of items to compare against the official application before I submit it. Do not invent names, dates, values, beneficiaries, assets, debts or tax figures. Redact personal identifiers in your response. Estate facts: [paste only redacted facts]. Will and other documents: [paste relevant redacted text or describe the documents]. Official guidance: [paste the relevant official guidance or links].
Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.
What it gets wrong
- AI cannot establish whether the estate has inheritance tax obligations or which reporting route applies from incomplete facts.
- AI cannot confirm that a will, codicil, executor appointment or beneficiary position is legally valid.
- AI cannot take responsibility for the declaration made by an executor or correct an application after a mistake.
- AI cannot investigate missing assets, disputed wills, trusts, foreign property or family conflicts.
- AI cannot replace the official probate application or professional advice for an estate with serious complications.
What makes this a NO: legal accountability, verification cost and judgement under ambiguity.
How we scored this
Five axes, each scored nought to two by hand: ten means AI carries the task cleanly, and the thresholds that turn a total into YES, PARTLY or NO are published in the methodology. Each axis name links to its definition.
| Axis | Score (0–2) |
|---|---|
| Output | 1 |
| Inputs | 1 |
| Verification | 0 |
| Liability | 0 |
| Effort delta | 1 |
| Total | 3 / 10 |
The methodology and its thresholds are published in full.
FAQ
- Can ChatGPT apply for probate for me?
- No. It can organise your documents and explain information you provide, but you must complete the official process and remain responsible as executor. A probate solicitor is the safer route for a disputed, complicated or uncertain estate.
- Can AI help me fill in a probate application?
- It can help turn your records into a checklist and identify questions in the official form. It cannot confirm that your answers, inheritance tax treatment or executor declaration are legally correct, so check the result against GOV.UK and use a solicitor for a serious case.
- Do I need a solicitor to get a grant of probate?
- Not every straightforward estate requires a solicitor, but the executor remains responsible for the application. Get advice from a probate solicitor if the will is disputed, the estate includes trusts or overseas property, tax is uncertain, or beneficiaries disagree.
- Is it safe to use AI for probate?
- It is reasonably suited to sorting documents and preparing questions, not to deciding the legal or tax position of an estate. This is not professional advice, and an error can leave you responsible as executor for delay, loss or an incorrect application.
Nearby answers
Assessed by gpt-5.6-luna (gpt-5.6-luna) on 2026-08-13, second-checked by an independent model. Wrong somewhere? Email [email protected] and it gets re-checked.
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