When someone dies, the paperwork arrives at the worst possible time, and it is natural to look for help that takes some of the weight off. If you are comparing Solace Care and Farewill, the short answer is that they do different jobs. Farewill is a UK company that writes wills, arranges funerals and handles probate for a fixed fee, through a partner law firm. Solace Care is a digital platform that helps you gather your documents, insurance and wishes in one secure place before a death, and guides your family through the practical administration afterwards. Whether one is “better” depends on what you need: a legal service to do probate for you, or a place where the whole plan lives and a guide for everything that follows. This page compares them side by side.
What does Farewill offer?
Farewill was founded in 2015 and offers online and telephone wills, lasting powers of attorney, funerals and direct cremation, and probate (farewill.com). In October 2024 the funeral group Dignity agreed to acquire it (Castelnau Group announcement).
An online will costs £100 for one person or £160 for a couple, with an optional £10 a year for unlimited updates. A will written over the phone costs £240, or £380 for a couple (Farewill wills). For probate, Farewill offers a grant-only application from £895 and a complete probate service that also values the estate, closes accounts, deals with property and pays taxes. The probate registry fee of £526 comes on top (Farewill probate). Farewill’s own page gives two different starting prices for complete probate, so check the current figure before you commit. Farewill states that it is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority; its probate services are delivered by a separate SRA-regulated law firm. Prices were checked in October 2026.
What does Solace Care offer?
Solace Care is built around the whole journey rather than a single legal task. Before a death, you keep your will, power of attorney, insurance and pension details, bank information, digital accounts, funeral wishes and memories in a secure digital vault, and choose which family members can see what. After a death, your family gets a personalised checklist that walks them through each institution, with AI help for practical questions and access to advisers when they need a person.
Solace Care uses strong identification, is certified to ISO 27001 for information security, and is mostly offered through life insurers and employers as part of a policy or benefit. Today it covers families in Sweden, Finland and Norway, where more than 25,000 people had access through insurance partners by August 2026, and it is expanding to the Netherlands and the UK.
How do Solace Care and Farewill compare?
Farewill | Solace Care | |
|---|---|---|
Main job | Legal and funeral services: wills, LPAs, probate, funerals | Planning ahead and guiding the family through all the admin after a loss |
Wills | Writes your will online or by phone | Stores your will and notes where the signed original is kept |
Probate | Applies for the grant, or handles the full estate, through a partner law firm | Guides the family step by step; does not act as a law firm |
Insurance, accounts and digital legacy | Not its main focus | Kept together in the same vault |
Family collaboration | Not its main focus | Invite family members and give them roles |
How you access it | Direct, pay per service | Mostly through your insurer or employer |
Where | UK | Sweden, Finland and Norway; expanding to the Netherlands and the UK |
Which is better for estate administration after a death?
If you are an executor in England or Wales and want a professional to apply for probate or settle the estate for you, a probate service such as Farewill’s, or a solicitor, is the tool for that job. You can also apply for probate yourself, which many people do for straightforward estates.
Probate is only part of the work, though. Someone still has to find every account, policy and subscription, tell each organisation, and keep the family on the same page. That is where Solace Care is stronger: it keeps the whole picture in one place and turns it into a checklist the family can share. The biggest difference comes from planning ahead. When the information is already gathered before a death, the people left behind start with a map instead of a search.
The two are not mutually exclusive. A common approach is to have a will written by a professional, keep it and everything else together in a digital vault, and use a probate service if the estate needs one.
Frequently asked questions: Solace Care vs Farewill
Does Solace Care apply for probate?
No. Solace Care guides you through the steps and keeps the documents and deadlines organised, but it is not a law firm and does not apply for the grant on your behalf. For that, apply yourself through GOV.UK or use a solicitor or probate service.
Is Farewill regulated?
Farewill states that Farewill Ltd is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and that its probate services are delivered by a separate SRA-regulated law firm (Farewill).
Can I use Solace Care in the UK today?
Solace Care is currently offered through insurers in Sweden, Finland and Norway and is expanding to the UK. Our UK guides, such as what to do when someone dies, are free to read.
Do I still need a will if I use a digital vault?
Yes. A vault keeps information findable, but in England and Wales a will must be in writing, signed and witnessed by two people to be valid (Wills Act 1837, section 9). Read more in making a will in the UK.
Want your family to have one clear place to start? Create a Solace Care account or explore guides to grief, inheritance and practical tasks.
