Wills and Probate Solicitors in Manchester, Sale and Chester
Nobody likes thinking about what happens after they’re gone, but putting it off doesn’t make the questions go away, it just leaves your family to deal with them at the worst possible time. Our Wills and Probate solicitors give you straight-talking advice on making a Will, dealing with an estate, and everything in between, so your wishes are clear and your family isn’t left guessing.
Call us on 0330 111 3131 or get in touch via our online enquiry form. We’ll give you straightforward advice on where you stand and what it’s likely to cost.
What do Wills and Probate solicitors do?
A Wills and Probate solicitor helps you plan for the future by drafting a legally sound Will, and helps your family deal with an estate after a death, including applying for the Grant of Probate, paying any inheritance tax due, and distributing what’s left according to the Will or the rules of intestacy if there isn’t one.
We act for clients across Manchester, Sale and Chester, as well as clients further afield across the UK and overseas. Whether you’re writing a Will for the first time, updating one after a big change in your life, or dealing with someone else’s estate after a bereavement, the job is the same: give you clear advice, handle the paperwork properly, and make sure nothing gets missed.
Wills and Probate services we offer
Our Private Client team advises on the full range of Wills, Probate and estate planning matters. Each service below links to a dedicated page where you can read more.
Making and updating your Will
Whether your situation is straightforward or more complicated, we make sure your Will says what you actually mean. See our Will writing services page for more information.
Dealing with an estate after a death
We can take on as much or as little of the estate administration as you need, from a single task to full execution of the Will. See our Probate solicitors page for further details.
Trusts and inheritance tax planning
Trusts can protect assets for the people you care about, and careful planning can reduce the inheritance tax bill your family eventually faces. See our Trust solicitors and our inheritance tax solicitors pages for more information.
Wider estate and asset protection planning
Beyond the Will itself, we advise on protecting assets from long-term care costs and planning for how your wider estate is structured. See our estate planning solicitors page for further details.
Wills and Probate touch everyone eventually, but what you need from us often depends on your circumstances.
Private clients: The largest group of people we act for: individuals and families writing a Will for the first time, updating one, or dealing with a bereavement.
High-net-worth individuals: Clients with more complex estates, multiple properties, Trusts or business interests, where inheritance tax planning and structuring matter more.
Business owners: Clients who need their Will to work alongside a shareholders’ or partnership agreement, and who want to understand how business property relief and succession planning fit together.
Corporate and professional contacts: Professional deputies, corporate executors, and other advisers, such as accountants and financial planners, who we work alongside on shared clients’ behalf.
When to contact a Wills and Probate solicitor
A few moments tend to prompt people to finally get in touch:
You don’t have a Will yet, or haven’t looked at it since a big life change: marriage, divorce, a new child, or a house move
Someone close to you has died and you’re not sure whether there’s a Will, or what happens next
You’re worried about inheritance tax, or about care costs eating into what you can leave behind
A family member has lost mental capacity and hasn’t put a Lasting Power of Attorney in place
You’ve received a personal injury settlement and need to protect your entitlement to means-tested benefits
Whatever your reason for getting in touch, an initial conversation costs nothing and gives you a much clearer picture before you commit to anything.
Making a Will, or leaving it to intestacy
Not having a Will doesn’t mean your estate goes unclaimed, but it does mean the law decides who gets what, not you.
Option
What happens
Best suited to
Making a Will
You decide who inherits, who looks after any children, and who administers your estate.
Anyone who wants control over what happens to their estate, which is almost everyone.
Dying without a Will (intestacy)
Fixed legal rules decide who inherits, which may not match your wishes, especially for unmarried couples.
Nobody, by design, though many people end up here simply by not getting round to it.
Statutory Will
The Court of Protection approves a Will on behalf of someone who currently lacks the mental capacity to make one.
Situations where a person needs a Will but can no longer make one themselves.
The rules of intestacy follow a fixed order, spouse or civil partner first, then children, then wider family, and they don’t recognise unmarried partners at all, however long you’ve been together. If that doesn’t reflect what you’d actually want, the fix is straightforward: make a Will. Where someone has already lost capacity and never made one, a statutory Will may still be possible, see our dedicated page for how that works.
A significant change is coming: pensions and inheritance tax
From April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be brought within the scope of inheritance tax for the first time, following changes announced in the October 2024 Budget. This is one of the most significant shifts in estate planning in years, since pensions have traditionally sat outside a person’s taxable estate.
If your estate planning has relied on leaving pension savings untouched to pass tax-free to your beneficiaries, that assumption needs revisiting well before the change takes effect. We’re keeping a close eye on the detailed rules as they’re finalised, and would encourage anyone with significant pension savings to get in touch so we can plan ahead together rather than react once the change is already in force.
Don’t forget digital assets
Modern estates increasingly include things a traditional Will can easily miss: cryptocurrency, online banking and investment accounts, digital photographs and documents, and social media or email accounts. Without clear instructions and access details left somewhere secure, family members can find themselves locked out of assets they’re entitled to, sometimes permanently. We routinely ask clients about digital assets as part of the Will-writing conversation, precisely because it’s so easy to overlook.
Business owners: reliefs worth understanding
Business Property Relief and Agricultural Property Relief can reduce or remove inheritance tax on qualifying business and farming assets, but the rules are being tightened from April 2026, with a cap introduced on how much combined relief an estate can claim at the full rate. If your estate includes a business or farmland, this is worth reviewing now rather than assuming the relief you’re expecting will still apply in full.
We work alongside your accountant or financial adviser where useful, since getting the structure right often depends on decisions made years before death, not just at the point a Will is written. A shareholders’ agreement that doesn’t align with your Will can undo careful planning, so we check the two work together rather than assuming they do.
Choosing your executors
Your executor deals with the practical, sometimes lengthy work of administering your estate, so it’s worth choosing carefully rather than defaulting to the eldest child or closest relative out of habit. A good executor is organised, willing to take on paperwork during a difficult time, and, ideally, on reasonable terms with the other beneficiaries. You can appoint more than one executor to share the load, and a professional executor, such as a solicitor, where family relationships are complicated or no one feels able to take it on.
Costs and fees
Probate work is one of the areas where the Solicitors Regulation Authority requires firms to publish clear pricing information, so we set out our typical fee structure and what’s included alongside a tailored quote before you instruct us.
Fees for a straightforward Will are usually charged at a fixed price agreed upfront. Probate and estate administration costs depend on the size and complexity of the estate, whether there’s a property to sell, and how many beneficiaries and assets are involved, so these are typically charged on an hourly basis or an agreed fixed fee once we understand the estate. Disbursements, such as the Probate Registry fee, are separate from our own fees.
See our fees for our published pricing information, and we will always confirm your actual costs in writing before you instruct us.
A Letter of Wishes alongside your Will
A Will is a formal legal document, and it’s not always the right place for more personal guidance, funeral preferences, which family heirloom should go to which grandchild, or the reasoning behind a decision that might otherwise seem unfair to someone. A Letter of Wishes sits alongside your Will and isn’t legally binding, but it gives your executors and family real context, and can reduce the chance of a dispute later by explaining your thinking rather than leaving it to guesswork.
Meeting you where it suits you
Not everyone wants to, or can easily, come into an office, particularly if they’re elderly, unwell, or simply live too far away. We offer home visits where that’s genuinely easier, and video appointments for clients who’d rather not travel at all, including clients based overseas dealing with a UK estate or planning ahead from abroad. The advice is the same wherever it’s delivered, we just fit around what works for you and your family.
Why choose Slater Heelis for Wills and Probate
We’ve been advising families across the North West for over 250 years, and we’re listed in The Times Best Law Firms for 2026 and recognised by The Legal 500 as one of the leading firms in the North West.
Straight-talking advice: No jargon, no hedging, just a clear explanation of your options and what they’re likely to cost.
Genuinely experienced team: Alex Sealy leads our Wills, Trusts and Probate team, and several of our Private Client partners are members of STEP and Solicitors for the Elderly.
Rated by real clients: Over 1,900 five-star reviews and a 4.9 out of 5 average rating on ReviewSolicitors.
Local roots, national reach: Based in Manchester, Sale and Chester, and advising clients across the UK and overseas, with appointment-only offices in London, Liverpool, Leeds, York and Sheffield.
Ready to talk to a Wills and Probate solicitor?
Whatever stage you’re at, a straightforward conversation is the best place to start. Call us on 0330 111 3131, or get in touch via our online enquiry form.
Our offices in Manchester, Sale and Chester are open for face-to-face meetings, and we work with clients across the UK and overseas, with appointments available at our other locations in London, Liverpool, Leeds, York and Sheffield when that’s more convenient for you.
Wherever you’re based, the same team and the same standard of advice applies, whether you come into one of our three main offices or speak to us by phone or video from the other side of the world.
Frequently asked questions about Wills and Probate
What happens if I die without a Will?
Your estate is distributed under the rules of intestacy, a fixed legal order that starts with a spouse or civil partner, then children, then wider family. Unmarried partners have no automatic right to inherit under these rules, whatever your relationship.
What is the difference between a Grant of Probate and Letters of Administration?
A Grant of Probate is issued to the executor named in a valid Will. Letters of Administration are issued instead when there’s no Will, giving a close family member the same legal authority to deal with the estate.
How long does Probate take?
Straightforward estates can be dealt with in a few months; more complex estates, with property, multiple beneficiaries or assets abroad, typically take longer, often 6 to 12 months from start to finish.
Do I have to pay inheritance tax before I get Probate?
Often, yes, at least in part. Inheritance tax must generally be paid within 6 months of the death, or HMRC starts charging interest, and in many cases some or all of it needs to be paid before the Grant of Probate is issued.
How much does it cost to write a Will?
A straightforward Will is usually charged at a fixed price agreed upfront. More complex Wills, involving Trusts or business interests, cost more, and we’ll always confirm the price before you commit. Please get in touch for a tailored quote.
Can I write my own Will without a solicitor?
You can, but we’d urge you not to. We regularly see disputes arise from DIY Wills that were not properly witnessed, or that didn’t account for something the person hadn’t considered, and sorting that out afterwards costs far more than getting it right the first time. See our contentious Probate solicitors for the kind of disputes this can lead to.
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