Last year the Government consulted the public and profession on proposals to change its charging structure and increase the basic rate for basic probate applications by over 100%! Despite overwhelming negative responses to virtually all the proposals, the Ministry of Justice announced at the end of last week that it has recommended the proposals be adopted wholesale! These changes are anticipated to come into effect from May this year, although no date has yet been published.
The fees must be paid up front before you can access frozen assets and it is unclear if banks and building societies will be willing to release funds early to cover these costs which start at £300 for the smaller estate but could be as much as an eye watering £20,000 for larger estates. The thresholds for the bandings are few but the fees increase to £1,000, then £4,000, £8,000, £10,000 and finally leap right up to £20,000. This is called a court fee, but to most it will smack of a stealth tax on those who have died. This is on top of any inheritance tax that may be payable and on top of ever increasing costs of funerals.
Claire Davis, Director, SFE (Solicitors for the Elderly) said:
“SFE is extremely disappointed to see that the consensus to reject the proposed probate fees has been ignored.
“For the 62% of estates that use a solicitor, probate registry performs a purely administrative role, and the value of the estate has no bearing on the work undertaken.
“To burden larger estates with a significantly larger fee is an unfair form of taxation. For people in this situation, their property is often their primary asset, and they have little cash to pay for higher probate fees, on top of other necessities such as IHT or the use of a solicitor.
“The increase in probate fees will place a burden on families at a sensitive and distressing time and is likely to put people who are vulnerable and/or elderly at risk. Our fear is that such clients might be persuaded to take steps to avoid probate fees, even if the effect is to leave them with insufficient assets to provide for themselves for the rest of their life.”
At RMP we want to help you as much as we can and can discuss ways of organising assets to minimise the impact of these fee hikes as well as possibly exploring where and what you might consider putting your money into to ensure funds are readily available to help your executor pay the court fee without needing to take out a loan or stump up the funds personally until he can access your money to be reimbursed.
If a loved one has died recently, please do not hesitate to seek legal advice to try and avoid the impact of these fee increases. We will do our best to push through your application by the end of April to avoid the additional fees provided you seek our assistance within the next few weeks nd we can gather all the necessary information.
Let us look at your will too, and check that you have left your assets in the most effective way and do not leave your loved ones with more hassle to sort out than they need.
Whatever help you need, do not delay, call RMP today on +441213184707.
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