Probate fees hike scrapped

Last November, the Government announced plans to alter the charging structure for probate fees which are paid when administering someone’s estate after they die. The proposal was that the current flat fee, now £215 (or £155 if applying through a solicitor) would be replaced with a sliding scale, meaning that some of our clients dealing with higher value estates would have been charged almost £6,000 extra!

The changes were due to come into force in April 2019 and have been linked to the surge in applications for grants of probate which has caused significant delays to the processing times. For now, probate fees will be reviewed as part of the annual assessment of charges in the family and civil courts.

Hall Reynolds LLP welcomes the withdrawal of the Probate Fees Order and we are relieved that our clients and estate beneficiaries, will not be burdened with unfair fees.

If you would like any help or advice regarding probate, writing or changing a will or powers of attorney, please get in touch.