Kings Court Trust

What Kings Court Trust does

Kings Court Trust is a UK-based specialist probate and estate administration firm, founded in 2002 and headquartered in Bristol, with operations across England and Wales under ICAEW probate accreditation (reference C008937692). The company serves individuals and families — primarily Executors named in Wills and Administrators of intestate estates — handling the legal, tax, and administrative work required to settle a deceased person's estate. Its core service is a tiered fixed-fee offering: a basic Grant of Probate service starting at £1,395 for straightforward estates, an Enhanced Grant of Probate for estates with a single property and fewer than three financial accounts, and a comprehensive Full Estate Administration service for complex estates with multiple properties or accounts, which collects fees from the estate after funds are realised and requires no upfront payment. The firm also operates NotifyNOW, a proprietary digital service that notifies over 2,000 companies of a death in a single action.

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market: a direct-to-consumer motion through website enquiries and a phone contact centre (0300 303 9000), supplemented by a professional partner referral channel spanning Independent Financial Advisers, Will Writers, Funeral Directors, Banks, Charities, and Bereavement Support Organisations. Each case is assigned a dedicated Personal Estate Manager who guides the family through the process, which typically takes 6-12 months for straightforward estates. Pricing is transparent and fixed, distinguishing Kings Court Trust from traditional solicitor hourly billing. The firm has cumulatively helped over 40,000 families and has been awarded Probate Provider of the Year at the British Wills and Probate awards in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2024.

In February 2026, Kings Court Trust extended its offering through a strategic partnership with InheritNOW (a service of The Estate Registry) to provide pre-probate financial assistance for funeral and other immediate expenses, broadening the firm's role from estate administrator to broader bereavement services partner. The company is privately held, ICAEW-regulated, and employs 101-250 people. Leadership comprises CEO Simon Hancox and CFO Vicki Wheelhouse. The only disclosed institutional capital event is a $6.1 million round led by Smedvig Ventures in July 2013; no subsequent funding rounds, M&A activity, or ownership changes are recorded in the source material.

Name

Kings Court Trust

Legal name

Kings Court Trust Limited

Website

https://kctrust.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kings Court Trust is a UK-based, ICAEW-regulated specialist probate and estate administration firm serving bereaved families with fixed-fee services across England and Wales, supported by a professional partner referral network and a proprietary NotifyNOW death-notification platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Probate and Estate Administration Services

NAICS

Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Legal Services (5411), Trust, Fiduciary, and Custody Activities (523991)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Estate Administration & Probate Services (FSAAANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Estate & Probate Administration Services (FSAEAKAD), Trust & Estate Tax Planning & Compliance (FSAEAKAE), Personal & Family Trust Services (FSAAANAA)

Keywords

• Probate services
• Estate administration
• Grant of probate
• Inheritance tax services
• Bereavement support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Probate and Estate Administration Services: Fixed-fee professional services for probate and estate administration. Services include Grant of Probate, Enhanced Grant of Probate, and Full Estate Administration. Fees are charged as fixed prices for specific services, and for full estate administration, fees are taken from the estate once funds have been collected with nothing to pay upfront.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kings Court Trust provides fixed-fee probate and estate administration services to bereaved families in the United Kingdom. Its core offerings include a tiered service model covering the Grant of Probate (for simple or lower-value estates), Enhanced Grant of Probate (for estates with one property and/or fewer than three financial accounts), and Full Estate Administration (for complex estates with multiple properties or accounts). The firm also offers the proprietary NotifyNOW digital service that notifies over 2,000 companies of a death in a single action, and partners with InheritNOW to provide immediate funds for funeral costs and expenses before probate is granted.

Product overview

Kings Court Trust is an award-winning probate and estate administration specialist offering a tiered service model with three core products: Grant of Probate (for simple estates), Enhanced Grant of Probate (for estates with one property or fewer than three financial accounts), and Full Estate Administration (for complex estates with multiple properties or accounts). The company also offers digital services including NotifyNOW for death notifications to companies, and provides financial assistance through the InheritNOW partnership. Services are priced on a fixed-fee basis starting from £1,395 for basic probate services, with no upfront payment required for the full administration service as fees are deducted from the estate.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grant of Probate

Quantifiable outcome

• 40,000+ families helped through probate
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• InheritNOW (Service of The Estate Registry)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 February 2026Partnership with InheritNOW to provide financial assistance and administrative support to bereaved families. Enables families to access immediate funds for funeral costs and other expenses before probate is granted, while also offering NotifyNOW digital service that notifies over 2,000 companies of a death in a single action.
• Independent Financial AdviserscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional partner network referring clients to Kings Court Trust for probate services. Partners choose KCT for probate expertise, transparent fixed fees, and reassurance that their clients are cared for with empathy and professionalism.
• Will WriterscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional partner network referring clients to Kings Court Trust for probate services.
• Funeral DirectorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional partner network referring clients to Kings Court Trust for probate services.
• BanksminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional partner network referring clients to Kings Court Trust for probate services.
• CharitiesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional partner network referring clients to Kings Court Trust for probate services.
• Bereavement Support OrganisationscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProfessional partner network referring clients to Kings Court Trust for probate services.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Co-op Legal Services: Co-op Legal Services is a UK-wide probate and estate administration provider with a fixed-fee pricing model and national brand recognition, directly competing with KCT for the same UK consumer probate market via similar tiered service offerings.
• Fraser & Fraser: Fraser & Fraser is a long-established UK specialist probate, estate administration and missing-beneficiary firm, highly comparable to KCT in its sole focus on probate, complex-estate capability, and use of a dedicated case manager model for families.
• Stephensons Solicitors: Stephensons Solicitors runs an established probate and estate administration practice in the North West and nationwide, with a similar fixed-fee and partner-referral-driven model to Kings Court Trust.
• Howells Solicitors: Howells Solicitors operates a dedicated probate and estate administration service across the Midlands and wider UK with fixed fees, overlapping directly with KCT's tiered fixed-fee probate proposition and Personal Estate Manager style of service.
• Farewill: Farewill is a UK-based online will-writing and probate service that targets the same bereaved-family customer segment as Kings Court Trust, offering fixed-fee probate and estate administration through a digital-first model with human support — a direct functional and pricing competitor.

Broad incumbents

• Hugh James: Hugh James is a large UK law firm with a significant private client and contentious/non-contentious probate practice, providing a broader legal-services portfolio that competes with KCT for higher-value and complex estates while also offering will-writing and estate planning.
• Weightmans: Weightmans is a UK-wide full-service law firm whose private client team handles probate, estate administration and Inheritance Tax work, overlapping with KCT in mid-to-high-value estate administration cases.
• Irwin Mitchell: Irwin Mitchell is a major UK national law firm with a well-developed private wealth and probate offering, competing with KCT in the full-estate-administration tier particularly where estates involve property, tax disputes or cross-border assets.
• Blake Morgan: Blake Morgan is a UK regional law firm with a private client practice that includes probate, estate administration and Inheritance Tax advice, competing with KCT in the full-estate-administration tier particularly across the South of England.

Regional players

• Bereavement Advice Centre / National Bereavement Service: National Bereavement Service is a UK-focused non-profit and signposting service that connects bereaved families with probate practitioners including KCT itself; while not a direct competitor, it sits in the same consumer-probate referral ecosystem and influences case-flow to specialists like KCT.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights1 record

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kctpartners
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kings-court-trust-ltd

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kings Court Trust