Form PA1A Worked Example: Applying for Letters of Administration With No Will
Form PA1A is the application you complete when someone dies without a valid will in England and Wales and you need a grant of letters of administration. The most "entitled" relative under the intestacy rules applies — usually the surviving spouse or civil partner first — and the form is where you prove your relationship to the deceased and your right to administer the estate.
If you have landed here, you are probably staring at the eight-page PA1A on screen and wondering which boxes apply to you. This guide walks through a complete worked example — a real-shaped £350,000 estate with a surviving spouse — so you can see exactly how the form captures entitlement, how the £322,000 statutory legacy decides who inherits what, and how PA1A differs from its sibling form, the PA1P (used when there is a will).
Use PA1A when there is no will (you are applying for letters of administration). Use PA1P when there is a will (you are applying for a grant of probate). Both are filed with HM Courts & Tribunals Service. This guide is about PA1A only. Source: GOV.UK — Applying for probate: if there's not a will.
Who can apply on PA1A: the intestacy priority order
When there is no will, the law decides who has the right to be the administrator. You cannot simply nominate yourself — entitlement follows a fixed order set by the intestacy rules (Administration of Estates Act 1925, as amended). The most entitled person who is willing and able to act applies first.
For deaths in England and Wales, GOV.UK summarises the order of entitlement to administer as follows — broadly, "the husband, wife or civil partner (including if you were separated) followed by any children 18 or over":
| Priority | Who is entitled to apply as administrator |
|---|---|
| 1 | Surviving spouse or civil partner (even if separated, provided not divorced / partnership not dissolved) |
| 2 | Children of the deceased aged 18 or over (and the issue of any child who has died) |
| 3 | Parents of the deceased |
| 4 | Brothers and sisters (siblings), or their children if a sibling has died |
| 5 | Grandparents, then uncles and aunts (or their children) |
Two points trip people up:
- An unmarried partner has no right to apply. GOV.UK is explicit: you cannot apply if you were only a partner and were not married or in a civil partnership at the date of death. A cohabiting partner is not an administrator and does not inherit under intestacy — only a claim under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 could change the financial outcome, and that is a separate court process.
- A more entitled person can stand aside. If a higher-priority relative does not want to act, they can use form PA12 to appoint someone to act for them, or PA16 to renounce (permanently give up) their right. Only then does the next class become entitled to apply.
Separation does not remove a spouse's right to apply or to inherit on intestacy — only a decree absolute / final order of divorce does. A husband or wife who was estranged but still legally married is the first-entitled administrator. This is one of the most common reasons people get the priority order wrong.
How PA1A captures your relationship and entitlement
The whole purpose of PA1A is to let the Probate Registry confirm that the right person is applying. Compared with the PA1P, the section on "your relationship to the person who died" carries more weight, because there is no will naming you — your entitlement comes entirely from your blood or marital relationship.
In practice the PA1A asks you to:
- Give your details and confirm your relationship to the deceased (spouse, civil partner, child, parent, sibling, etc.).
- Confirm that nobody with a higher entitlement is applying — and if there is, that they have renounced or appointed you.
- List all other people with an equal right to apply (for example, if you are one of three adult children) and confirm whether they are applying with you or have been notified.
- State the gross and net value of the estate and confirm the inheritance tax position (whether an IHT account was needed).
- Provide details of the deceased and confirm there is no will (this is the defining declaration of the PA1A).
You can apply online or by post. The official paper form and guidance notes are on GOV.UK: Form PA1A: apply for probate by post (no will).
The £322,000 statutory legacy: how it shapes who inherits
Before you can sensibly fill in the value and entitlement sections, you need to know who actually inherits — because on intestacy, that is fixed by statute, not by anyone's wishes. The key number is the statutory legacy: a fixed cash sum the surviving spouse or civil partner takes off the top before the rest of the estate is divided.
For deaths on or after 26 July 2023, the statutory legacy is £322,000 (it was £270,000 for deaths from 6 February 2020 to 25 July 2023). Source: HMRC Inheritance Tax Manual IHTM12122.
Where the deceased left a spouse/civil partner AND children, the intestacy distribution (per IHTM12111) is:
- The spouse takes all the personal chattels (personal possessions — car, furniture, jewellery, etc.).
- The spouse takes the £322,000 statutory legacy (plus statutory interest if it is paid late).
- Whatever is left — the residue — is split in two halves: the spouse takes one half absolutely; the children share the other half equally (held on the statutory trusts until they reach 18).
Where the deceased left a spouse but no children, the spouse takes the whole estate — the statutory legacy ceiling does not bite at all. That distinction is why two estates of identical value can produce completely different inheritances.
- PA1A = no will (letters of administration); PA1P = there is a will (grant of probate).
- The surviving spouse or civil partner is first in line to apply — separation doesn't change that, only divorce does.
- The statutory legacy is £322,000 for deaths on/after 26 July 2023; below that figure, a spouse with children inherits the lot.
- An unmarried partner cannot apply and does not inherit under intestacy.
- The probate application fee is £300 for estates over £5,000 (nil at or below £5,000); extra copies of the grant are £16 each.
Worked example: a surviving spouse and a £350,000 intestate estate
The facts. James Okafor dies on 12 March 2026 without a will. He leaves his wife, Grace Okafor, and two adult children, Daniel (24) and Maya (21). His net estate is £350,000 — a house worth £300,000 (in his sole name, no mortgage), £40,000 in savings, and £10,000 of personal possessions (chattels). There is no inheritance tax to pay because the estate passes to a spouse (spouse exemption) and is below the relevant thresholds in any event.
Who applies? Grace is the surviving spouse, so under the intestacy priority order she is first entitled to apply for letters of administration. She completes PA1A, ticks "spouse" as her relationship, and confirms there is no will. Daniel and Maya have an equal-class right only behind her, so they do not need to apply — but the form notes that other persons with an entitlement exist.
Who inherits — the calculation. Because there is a spouse and children, the statutory split applies:
| Step | Amount | Goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Personal chattels | £10,000 | Grace (spouse) |
| Statutory legacy | £322,000 | Grace (spouse) |
| Residue to divide (£350,000 − £10,000 − £322,000) | £18,000 | split in half |
| Half of residue | £9,000 | Grace (spouse) |
| Other half of residue | £9,000 | Daniel & Maya (£4,500 each) |
Result. Grace receives £10,000 + £322,000 + £9,000 = £341,000. Daniel and Maya share £9,000 — £4,500 each. Even though the estate is comfortably into six figures, the children's share is small because most of the estate is absorbed by the statutory legacy. Had the estate been £322,000 or less, Grace would have taken everything and the children nothing under intestacy.
The practical headache. The biggest asset is the house. To pay the children their £4,500 each, Grace either uses the cash savings or the family agrees to leave the house wholly with her and settle the small shares from savings. Where the residue is large, families sometimes use a deed of variation within two years of death to redirect inheritances — for example, to use the children's nil-rate bands or to be fairer than the rigid statutory split.
Fees. The estate is over £5,000, so Grace pays the £300 probate application fee and orders, say, four extra copies of the grant at £16 each (£64) to send to the bank, the Land Registry and pension providers at the same time. Source: GOV.UK — Probate fees.
PA1A vs PA1P: what evidence differs
The two forms look similar, but the evidence the registry expects is different — and the gap is entirely about the will.
| Aspect | PA1A (no will) | PA1P (with a will) |
|---|---|---|
| Grant you receive | Letters of administration | Grant of probate |
| Will to lodge | None — you declare there is no valid will | You must send the original will (and any codicils) |
| Who can apply | Most entitled relative under intestacy rules (priority order) | The executor(s) named in the will |
| Proof of entitlement | Your relationship to the deceased + confirmation no one has a higher right | Your appointment as executor in the will |
| Renunciation / standing aside | PA16 (renounce) or PA12 (appoint someone) for higher-entitled relatives | A named executor can have "power reserved" or renounce probate |
| Death certificate | Required for both | Required for both |
The headline difference: with PA1A there is no will to lodge, so the registry instead relies on your declaration of the family tree and the intestacy priority order to confirm you are the right applicant. That is why PA1A asks more searching questions about siblings, children and whether anyone with a prior right exists. If you get the family relationships wrong — for example, by overlooking a child from an earlier relationship — you can be issued a grant you were not entitled to, which causes serious problems later.
For both forms, you must first deal with inheritance tax. Even where no tax is due, you may need to report the estate to HMRC before the grant issues. Check the current rules at GOV.UK — Check if you need to send full details of the estate and our IHT form how-to hub. Thresholds and reporting rules change — always confirm the live figure on GOV.UK before you submit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the PA1A form used for?
PA1A is the application for a grant of letters of administration in England and Wales when someone dies without a valid will (intestate). The most entitled relative under the intestacy rules — usually the surviving spouse or civil partner — uses it to get the legal authority to deal with the estate. If there is a will, you use PA1P instead. See GOV.UK.
Who is first in line to apply on PA1A?
The surviving spouse or civil partner, followed by children aged 18 or over, then parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives. Separation does not remove a spouse's priority — only divorce (a final order) does. An unmarried partner has no right to apply.
How much is the statutory legacy in 2026?
For deaths on or after 26 July 2023, the statutory legacy is £322,000 (it was £270,000 for deaths between 6 February 2020 and 25 July 2023). The surviving spouse takes this fixed sum plus personal possessions before the residue is split with the children. Source: HMRC IHTM12122.
If the estate is under £322,000, do the children get anything under intestacy?
No. Where there is a surviving spouse and the net estate (after personal chattels) is £322,000 or less, the spouse takes everything and the children receive nothing under the intestacy rules. The children only share in the residue once the estate exceeds the statutory legacy.
Do I have to send a will with the PA1A?
No — that is the key difference from the PA1P. On the PA1A you declare that there is no valid will, so there is nothing to lodge. The registry relies on your account of your relationship to the deceased and the intestacy priority order to confirm your entitlement. You still need the death certificate and the estate valuation.
How much does it cost to apply?
The probate application fee is £300 if the estate is worth more than £5,000, and there is no fee for estates of £5,000 or less. Extra copies of the grant cost £16 each. Source: GOV.UK — Probate fees.
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This article is general information about the law of England and Wales, not personal legal or tax advice. Intestacy applies differently in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Figures were verified against GOV.UK on 2026-06-03; thresholds change, so confirm the current figure on the official pages linked above and consider taking advice from a solicitor or STEP-qualified practitioner.