Should you apply for probate yourself or use a solicitor?

Most estates in Ireland are straightforward. A house, a couple of bank accounts, maybe a pension, left by a parent to their children in a valid will. The Probate Office processes thousands of personal applications a year and the staff are used to dealing with applicants who have never been through the system before.

But some estates are genuinely complex, and applying personally when you shouldn't is expensive in ways the fee savings do not make up for. This page covers what a personal application actually involves, what a solicitor does differently, the real cost difference, and the clear triggers that move an estate from "personal application" territory into "solicitor required" territory.

What a personal application involves

A personal application means you, the executor or administrator, do the work yourself. That work breaks into three phases:

1. Pre-lodgement. Register for Revenue myAccount, file the SA2, receive the Notice of Acknowledgement. Gather asset valuations, bank balance confirmations, property folio details, pension statements. Notify institutions of the death and request balances at date of death. Prepare the probate papers: the Oath of Executor or Oath of Administrator, the original will (if there is one), the death certificate, and the Inland Revenue Affidavit (though the SA2 Notice largely replaces this in modern applications).
2. Lodgement. Book an appointment with the Probate Office (Dublin Principal Registry or the relevant District Probate Registry). Attend in person to swear the Oath before a Probate Officer. Lodge all documents.
3. Post-grant. Collect assets once the Grant issues, pay outstanding debts, file CAT returns for each beneficiary where thresholds are crossed, distribute the estate, obtain Revenue clearance.

The time commitment for a typical personal application is 30 to 60 hours of work spread over several months. Not continuous work. Phone calls to banks, waiting for valuations, paperwork, one trip to the Probate Office.

What a solicitor does differently

A probate solicitor does all the same work, plus some things you cannot do yourself:

• Advises on the legal effect of the will and the entitlements of beneficiaries
• Handles contested valuations and negotiations with Revenue on the SA2
• Structures agricultural relief, business relief, or dwelling house exemption claims
• Manages communications where beneficiaries are in dispute
• Deals with overseas assets through foreign counterparts
• Takes responsibility for defects in the will or the application under their professional indemnity insurance

The last point is the underrated one. If the will has a subtle defect, or if a beneficiary later makes a Section 117 claim under the Succession Act, a solicitor's insurance covers the financial consequences of a mistake. A personal applicant bears those consequences personally.

The real cost difference

Personal application costs typically fall between €300 and €800. That covers Probate Office court fees (currently €200 lodgement fee plus €5 per certified copy of the Grant), two to four professional valuations at €150 to €400 each depending on the assets, a small number of certified death certificate copies at €20 each, and postage. Full cost breakdown here.

Solicitor costs for a standard estate typically run €2,000 to €5,000. Some firms charge a flat fee; others charge a percentage of the estate, which the Law Society discourages but which still appears in practice. Large or complex estates can cost €10,000 or more. Court fees and valuations are extra, on top of the solicitor's professional fee.

The fee difference on a standard estate is therefore €1,500 to €4,500. If your time is worth more than €50 per hour and the estate is genuinely complex, a solicitor may be cheaper in your own opportunity cost. If your time is less expensive and the estate is standard, a personal application is the clear financial choice.

Worked comparison: a typical €500,000 estate

To make the cost difference concrete, take a representative Irish estate. A mother dies leaving her two adult children a family home worth €400,000, a joint savings account with €20,000 (half of which is hers), and a single-name AIB current account with €80,000. Total estate for probate purposes: €790,000. No overseas assets. No disputes. A valid will naming the elder child as executor.

Personal application total cost:

• Probate Office lodgement fee: €200
• Certified copies of Grant (4 at €5 each): €20
• Property valuation from a local estate agent: €300
• Death certificate copies (5 at €20 each): €100
• Postage and stationery: €40
• Executor's own time (roughly 35 hours over three months): non-cash cost
• Total out of pocket: about €660

Solicitor application total cost:

• Solicitor's fee (flat-fee firm, standard estate): €2,800 plus VAT at 23% = €3,444
• Probate Office lodgement fee (passed through): €200
• Valuations: €300
• Death certificate copies: €100
• Executor's own time (roughly 8 hours of solicitor meetings and document signing): non-cash cost
• Total out of pocket: about €4,044

The fee difference on this specific estate is approximately €3,380. The executor giving up their time does the work themselves in the personal application scenario; the solicitor does that same work in the other scenario. The question is whether €3,380 is worth 27 hours of your time, roughly €125 per hour at the margin.

For many people, at that margin, the answer is yes, do it yourself. For others, especially people currently dealing with bereavement on top of full-time work, the answer is no, pay the solicitor. Both answers are defensible. The point of the comparison is to put the real numbers in front of you so the choice is informed, not emotional.

Where a solicitor reliably pays for themselves

The solicitor fee is not wasted money when any of the complexity triggers apply. Examples where the €3,000 to €5,000 professional fee typically pays for itself many times over:

• An estate with a contested beneficiary who goes on to make a formal Section 117 claim. Defending without professional representation is near-impossible.
• A farm where correctly structured Agricultural Relief saves 90% of the CAT charge. Getting the 80%-of-assets test right on a €600,000 farm saves around €178,000 in CAT. Getting it wrong and losing the relief costs that much.
• An estate with UK-based property that needs a parallel UK probate application. The Irish solicitor coordinates with UK counterparts; a personal applicant does not have that channel.
• An estate where the will's validity is questioned. Professional indemnity insurance covers the consequences of acting on a defective will; personal applicants bear those consequences themselves.

For a standard estate with none of these features, the solicitor fee is genuine spend for service delivered, not insurance against catastrophe. For an estate with any of these features, the fee is insurance with a high realistic claim probability.

The decision tree

Run through this list. If you answer yes to any single question, the presumption is that you should use a solicitor, and the burden is on you to satisfy yourself that you can handle it personally anyway.

1. Is there any dispute or disagreement among the family about the will or the estate?
2. Are there assets outside the Republic of Ireland?
3. Is the estate likely to be worth more than €1 million?
4. Does the estate include a business or farm that will claim business relief or agricultural relief?
5. Are any beneficiaries under 18, or of unsound mind?
6. Has anyone indicated they may challenge the will (Section 117 claim, capacity challenge, undue influence, forgery)?
7. Is there no will, and is the family structure complicated (estranged children, multiple marriages, unclear next of kin)?
8. Are the witnesses to the will untraceable, or is the will in a foreign language?
9. Is the executor under 18 or of unsound mind?
10. Are you uncomfortable with legal paperwork and have no one to help you?

If you answered no to all ten, a personal application is realistic. The Preparation Pack is designed for exactly this case: estates that are straightforward in their nature but still have 30 hours of paperwork ahead of them.

What a solicitor will not do for the fee

Executors sometimes assume that paying a solicitor means the solicitor takes on every aspect of the estate. They do not. A typical solicitor's probate fee covers the Grant application and the basic legal advice. It usually does not cover:

• Individual CAT (IT38) returns for beneficiaries. These are the beneficiary's own responsibility.
• Arranging valuations, though the solicitor will usually recommend valuers.
• Selling estate property. This is a separate conveyancing instruction with a separate fee.
• Dealing with individual institutions to collect accounts. Some solicitors include this; some charge separately.
• Distributing personal possessions among beneficiaries. This is the executor's job, with or without a solicitor.

Ask upfront, in writing, exactly what the fee covers and what is extra. Law Society guidance requires solicitors to provide a written Section 150 notice of charges before starting work.

The hybrid route

A third option exists. You do the preparation work yourself (gathering assets, filing the SA2, drafting the notification letters, organising the Beneficiary List), and then hire a solicitor only to review the papers before lodgement and to handle the Probate Office attendance. Some solicitors offer this as a fixed-fee service at €500 to €1,200.

This works well where the estate is basically straightforward but you want professional eyes on the final papers. Not all solicitors offer it. Call three firms in your area and ask for a limited-scope probate review quote before assuming you need the full service.

When in doubt

The Readiness Check takes 10 minutes and produces a personalised report on which route fits your estate. It applies the decision tree above to your specific circumstances, estimates your CAT liability, and recommends the product or the professional route that matches. Worth €79 of your time if you are genuinely unsure.