Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure the timely administration of estates when someone has died intestate.

There is no maximum time limit during which personal representatives must apply for a grant to administer an estate, or to distribute an estate after probate has been granted. The existing legal framework offers flexibility, accepting that the probate process is a complex one undertaken at an emotional time for many relatives.

A personal representative is under a statutory duty to administer the deceased person’s estate according to the law and without undue delay. They can be held liable if they mis-administer the estate.

There are legitimate reasons why it may take time fully to distribute an estate. For example, it may require the sale of a property or the settling of tax issues. If beneficiaries have concerns about the administration of the estate, they can make an application to the court to compel a personal representative to provide an inventory and account of their administration of an estate. In addition, applications can be made to remove and replace a personal executive where there are grounds to do so.

The Ministry of Justice regularly publishes data in our quarterly family court statistics bulletin: Family Court Statistics Quarterly - GOV.UK. This includes data on probate timeliness (including intetancy cases) together with the open caseload.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service has invested in more staff in 2026, together with system and process improvements and a programme of upskilling in order to improve the processing time for applications and maintain the low level of outstanding caseload.