UK Wills, Probate & Trusts Market Report 2026

Estate planning and disputes advice set to be the strongest growth areas

The 13th annual edition of the research report that provides a review of the market, looking at the market structure, key issues and new developments, market size and trends with historical data, the key players, future market developments, forecasts to 2030.

Here are some selected findings:

• The wills, trusts and probate market is expected to reach an estimated value of £3.19bn in 2026, growing by 6% on the 2025 value.
• The UK population is ageing and will continue to do so in the years ahead. Older adults provide the primary demand for probate, powers of attorney (POA) plus related services such as care plans and funeral plans.
• The volume wills market is showing limited growth with some players reducing their involvement in this sector and turning more to higher-value wills, probate and estate planning advice. Advice for probate, wills, trusts disputes is also generating more demand.
• The number of deaths annually is a major factor driving probate volumes (grants of representation issued). Deaths decreased in 2024 leading to a fall in the number of grants of representation issued in the following year. in 2025, grants of representation issued in England and Wales slipped to 295,416, a 10.1% decrease on 2024.
• A growing number of probate claims are ending up in the High Court, 1,216 claims in 2025, 12.6% up on 1,080 claims in 2024.
• After a record year for applications to register a POA in 2024, registration numbers were lower in 2025: numbers fell by 10.6% to 1.3 million from 1.5 million in 2024. Numbers are increasing again in the first half of 2026, growing by 19.4% on the same period in 2025.
• Demand in all the key market segments is driven by older adults in the main but there are signs that demand dynamics are likely to see some changes. The number of complex estates is expected to grow leading to more estates disputes. Tax issues related to more estates will grow particularly with changes to IHT and private pensions. The expected Great Wealth Transfer over the next three decades is likely to bring more income and assets to younger adults and families. These trends should encourage more people, many still working below pensionable age, to look for tax planning/estate planning advice, plus consider making or rewriting their wills.