UK wills and probate market reaches £3.2bn as firms leave and disputes rise
IRN Legal Reports' 2026 market study puts UK wills, probate and trusts work at £3.2bn, up 6%, while 12% of law firms have left the wills market since 2022. Firms handling contested estates grew by more than 20%.
On 22 October 2026, Legal Futures reported the findings of IRN Legal Reports’ UK Wills, Probate & Trusts Market 2026, the 13th edition of the annual study. Today’s Wills and Probate covered the same report on 30 October. Both outlets work from IRN’s paid research, so every figure below has a single origin: IRN.
IRN estimates the market at £3.2bn this year (£3.19bn in Today’s Wills and Probate’s account), 6% more than in 2025. Legal Futures adds that IRN expects a further 6.6% growth next year.
Fewer firms, more money
The revenue is rising while the supply of firms shrinks. Between 2022 and 2026 the number of law firms in England and Wales offering wills work fell by 12%, which Today’s Wills and Probate puts at almost 600 firms. Firms offering probate fell by 11.7%. Legal Futures says about 4,200 firms remain in each of the two areas, and that 2,620 handle trusts work, 8.7% fewer than five years ago.
IRN attributes most of the decline to medium and smaller general practice firms closing, merging or dropping wills and probate. It describes volume will writing as a market of limited growth, with some providers moving towards higher-value wills, probate and estate planning advice.
Contested estates are the growth area
The number of firms handling disputes has gone the other way. According to Legal Futures, firms taking contentious work grew by more than 20% over the period in each area: 301 for wills, 330 for probate and 211 for trusts. Both outlets report that 1,216 probate claims reached the High Court in 2025, a 12.6% rise on the 1,080 recorded in 2024.
IRN expects the number of complex estates to grow and to bring more disputes with it. It also expects more estate tax work as the changes to inheritance tax and private pensions take effect, and cites a predicted £7tn transfer of wealth between generations in the UK over the next 30 years.
Volumes and delays
Grants of representation issued in England and Wales fell 10% in 2025 to 295,416, after a drop in deaths in 2024, Today’s Wills and Probate reports. Delays have not eased with lower volumes. HM Courts & Tribunals Service had 46,594 open probate cases at the end of August 2026, against 38,713 a year earlier. Applications to register a lasting power of attorney fell 10.6% to 1.3m in 2025, then rose 19.4% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period a year before.
What it means for families and their advisers
The firms leaving are mostly at the volume end, which is not where UHNW families buy advice, and the money is moving to the complex work they do buy. The more useful signal for a family office is the dispute data. More law firms are now set up to bring and defend estate claims, and more of those claims are reaching the High Court, so a weakly documented will or trust carries a higher chance of being tested. With more than 46,000 probate cases open, families should also plan for the cash an estate may need while it waits for a grant, and not assume a quick release of assets.
Sources: Legal Futures (22 October 2026); Today’s Wills and Probate (30 October 2026); IRN Legal Reports, UK Wills, Probate & Trusts Market 2026.