When someone passes away, their family faces two challenges at once: the emotional weight of grief, and the practical responsibility of sorting out their estate. For the executor — the person legally appointed to carry out the terms of a will — this process is often far more complex and time-consuming than most people realise.
What the Numbers Tell Us
From our own ProVault survey (2025):
- The average person holds 3.9 bank accounts, 2.2 insurance policies, and 1.9 investment accounts.
- 69% of respondents have neither a will nor a lasting power of attorney.
- 58% say their next of kin do not fully know where their accounts are (including those who said “no” and those who said “some/maybe”).
External sources underline the scale:
- Only about 44% of UK adults have made a will (Dutton Gregory Solicitors).
- The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) reports that 56% of UK adults aged 18+ do not have a will.
- The National Wills Report 2024 found that more than half of UK adults hadn’t informed anyone about what should happen to their estate.
Probate at a Glance
The hidden admin your executor will face — and why organising now eases the burden later.
• Probate processing: GOV.UK — probate waiting times halved (2025).
• Will prevalence: MaPS — over half of UK adults don’t have a will (2025); National Will Register — National Wills Report 2024.
The Time It Takes: Probate Timelines & Delays
- If everything goes smoothly, probate can take as little as 4 weeks for online applications (GOV.UK).
- Paper-based applications average 15 weeks to process (Compare My Move).
- For many “normal” estates, the process takes 6–12 months, and complex cases can run longer (OCG Legal).
The Emotional & Practical Cost to Executors
- Switching from grief to action — locating accounts, policies, investments.
- Administrative overload — HMRC forms, courts, valuations, notifying beneficiaries.
- Time and uncertainty — worrying whether everything has been found and handled correctly.
The Gap That Causes Most Pain
- Lack of a will or clear instructions — intestacy rules can cause delays and unintended outcomes.
- Unorganised or unknown assets — detectives first, executors second.
- Delays in registrations and permissions — accuracy and third parties matter.
- Emotional load — most executors are grieving family members, not professionals.
What Can Be Done: Planning & Preparation
- Write a will and/or lasting power of attorney, and review periodically. Write a will · lasting power of attorney
- Create an estate inventory — accounts, policies, investments, pensions, digital accounts.
- Communicate clearly — let your executor and next of kin know where to find key information.
- Use secure digital tools to store and share the essentials when needed. secure digital tools · privacy & security
ProVault’s Role
We’ve built ProVault to help families organise what matters: a secure place to store important documents, account and policy information, and to ensure loved ones can access what they need, when they need it — so executors spend less time searching and more time honouring your legacy.