How do I sort out my husband's estate and apply for probate?

If there is a will, the executors named in it deal with the estate and apply for a grant of probate. If there is no will, the closest living relative can apply to be the administrator and gets letters of administration. That is normally the husband, wife or civil partner. Partners who weren't married or in a civil partnership cannot apply.

You don't have to do it yourself. An executor can step back for now and keep the right to apply later, called power reserved, or give up the role permanently using form PA15. You can also ask a solicitor to apply for you.

Being an executor is a real responsibility. Citizens Advice points out that the executor may have to pay for mistakes, such as sharing out money before all debts are paid.

Not always. GOV.UK says you may not need it if your partner only had savings, or if money, shares and property were held jointly and pass to you automatically.

You will usually need it when an organisation holding their money asks for it. Each bank, building society and investment company sets its own limit, so ask each one. A home in their sole name, or a share owned as tenants in common, normally needs probate before it can be sold or transferred.

You must value the estate for Inheritance Tax before you apply. List everything your partner owned, such as property, money, investments and belongings, and everything they owed.

Anything left to a husband, wife or civil partner is exempt, so many estates passing to a surviving spouse pay nothing. Above that, the nil-rate band is £325,000 and tax is charged at 40% on the rest. The threshold can rise to £500,000 when a home goes to children or grandchildren and the estate is worth less than £2 million.

Most estates are "excepted estates" and don't need a full Inheritance Tax account, so you can apply for probate straight away. If you do need to report full details, send form IHT400 to HMRC within 12 months of the death and before applying. Any tax due must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death, or HMRC charges interest. You normally have to start paying before probate is granted, and many banks will pay it from your partner's accounts.

Keep a record of how much of your partner's tax-free threshold was used. Whatever wasn't used can be added to yours when you die.

In England and Wales:

1. Check that probate is needed and that you can apply.
2. Value the estate and deal with Inheritance Tax. If you sent form IHT400, wait for the code HMRC sends you.
3. Apply online, which is usually faster, or by post. You will need the original will and a death certificate.
4. Pay the fee. It is £526 if the estate is worth more than £5,000, and nothing below that.
5. Order extra copies of the grant with your application for £2 each. Ordered later, they cost £16 each.

You will usually get the grant within 12 weeks of applying, though it can take longer if the Probate Service needs more information. GOV.UK advises not making financial plans or putting property on the market until you have it.

Send a copy of the grant to each organisation holding money or property. They release it to the executor, usually into an executor or estate account.

Before sharing anything out, pay the estate's debts, the funeral if it isn't already paid, and any tax. Citizens Advice suggests placing notices in The Gazette and a local paper to find unknown creditors. Without them, an executor could be personally liable for a debt that turns up later.

Then pass what is left to the beneficiaries, as the will or the intestacy rules say. Keep a simple record of everything coming in and going out, and give the beneficiaries a copy. A straightforward estate can be finished in months, but a house sale can make it take a year or more.

Yes. In Scotland the process is called confirmation, and you apply to the sheriff court. The Scottish Courts explain that an estate worth £36,000 or less counts as a small estate, and the sheriff clerk can help you prepare the forms without a solicitor. Scotland also has its own rules on who inherits.

Northern Ireland has its own Probate Office and rules. Inheritance Tax works the same way across the UK.