Your words, every time
Write probate updates in your firm's voice. Fee earners can adjust the wording for an individual executor before sending.
For private client and probate teams
Keep executors informed through every stage of probate.
Estate administration can take many months, and much of it is waiting on banks, the Probate Registry and HMRC. Matterping sends executors a short, considerate update at each milestone, so they know where things stand without having to chase.
Your Firm SolicitorsWhatsApp
Update from Your Firm Solicitors on your matter PROB-0318: "Probate application submitted" is now complete. What happens next: the application is with the Probate Registry. We will let you know as soon as the grant is issued.
Why probate clients chase
Long waits, at a difficult time.
Executors are often dealing with grief and a role they've never had before. Long, silent waits for valuations and the grant leave them unsure whether anything is happening. A short update at each milestone answers the question before they ask it.
Communication and delay are the most common issues clients raise with the Legal Ombudsman across all areas of law. (46% of complaint types in 2025/26: Legal Ombudsman, 2025/26 annual complaints data)
"You ensure that the service you provide to clients is competent and delivered in a timely manner. You consider and take account of your client’s attributes, needs and circumstances."
Example: grant of probate and administration
A clear path through the estate.
Set up your probate stages once, with wording that suits your clients. Here's an example of how an estate administration might be explained.
Adapt it for intestacy, inheritance tax estates, property sales within the estate, or anything else your team handles.
- Instructions receivedWe have everything we need to start. Next we write to the banks and other organisations to value the estate.
- Asset valuations requestedWe’ve asked banks, pension providers and others for values as at the date of death. Replies can take several weeks.
- Estate valuedWe have the information we need to prepare the inheritance tax position and the probate application.
- Probate application submittedThe application is with the Probate Registry. We’ll let you know as soon as the grant is issued.
- Grant of probate receivedWe can now collect in the estate’s money and sell or transfer assets.
- Assets collectedThe estate’s money is in our client account. Next we pay any debts and expenses.
- Estate accounts preparedWe’ll send the accounts for the executors to approve.
- DistributionWe are paying the beneficiaries in line with the will.
Considerate by design.
Quiet hours
Updates finished in the evening wait until the morning.
Updates you choose not to send
Complete internal stages without notifying the client.
Feedback, when it's appropriate
Pulse check-ins can be switched off on any matter where they wouldn't be right.
Replies on the file
An executor's reply goes to their matter and flags it for the fee earner.
Text message backup
Older clients without WhatsApp get the same update by text.
Questions firms ask
Is the tone right for bereaved clients?
You write the wording for every stage, so it can be as gentle and considerate as you need. Many firms keep probate updates short and factual, and avoid anything that reads like a marketing message.
Who receives the updates?
The client contact on the matter, usually the lead executor. Each phone number has one open matter with your firm at a time, so replies are always matched to the right estate.
Can we pause updates on a difficult matter?
Yes. You can complete stages without notifying the client, and switch Pulse feedback questions off for any matter where they wouldn’t be appropriate.
Probate takes months. Will clients still hear from us?
Each milestone sends an update, and the "what happens next" line can say roughly how long the next step usually takes, so executors know when to expect news.
What do the SRA Transparency Rules say about probate?
Uncontested probate is one of the services covered by the SRA Transparency Rules, which require firms to publish the key stages of the matter and likely timescales for each stage. Matterping then keeps each client informed as they move through those stages.
See a probate update on your own phone.
Book a short demo and we'll set up a matter type that matches how your firm works, then send an update to your own phone so you can see exactly what your clients would get.