‘Death Tax’ abolished

'Set to come into force next year, it would have meant almost 300,000 families a year facing larger probate fees.'

Plans to substantially increase probate fees from a flat £155 (for solicitors acting) or £215 (for lay applicants), to a sliding scale of £250 to £6,000 (depending on the value of the estate), have been stopped after being deemed unfair and disproportionate.

There was a surge in probate applications leading up to April 2019, when it was thought the fee changes would take effect. This coupled with IT problems at the probate registries, led to severe backlogs in grants of probates being issued. Executors are still continuing to experience delays which can lead to difficulties in estate creditors receiving payment, delays with probate property sales and delays in estate beneficiaries receiving their legacies.

It is with huge relief that the measure to increase probate fees have been quashed as it was feared that families would have to take loans out to pay for the cost of probate fees to access their inheritance.

If you’re looking for advice on probate fees, contact our expert Wills & Probate team today by clicking here.