Just a quick reply netsy as your title leapt out at me. When my father died 25 years ago, he had not made a will. The only beneficiaries of any estate were my mother and I and I didn't want to fork out thousands (as I had heard from others) for a solicitor. I did start with one, who quoted me a percentage of the estate. As this included a house, the fee would have been huge. I instead decided to go to the Citizen's Advice Bureau (do they still exist?) and had a chat with them. They gave me some forms to fill in, which had to be sent off to the nearest Probate Office. We were called to a meeting with one of their officials, had to swear an oath, and were granted 'Letters of Administration', which was the type of Probate issued if there was no Will. I think it only cost a few hundred pounds as opposed to the thousands the solicitor would have charged. Not sure if you can DIY probate these days, but if you can, you'll save a lot of money. I suspect that if there is a large family, a complicated set of beneficiaries, or any disagreements amongst beneficiaries, this may not work, but it was easy for us.
(Have edited original post as got some of my facts wrong - it was a long time ago!)