Huge Increase in Probate Fees from May 2017
From May 2017, Court fees for obtaining a Grant of Probate are set to dramatically increase. Currently, where an estate is valued at over £5,000 there is a fixed fee for obtaining a Grant of £215 for a personal application, or £155 where a solicitor makes the application.
Following a consultation, to which the response was largely negative, the Government has decided to proceed with a new fee structure for Grant of Probate.
Whilst this will see the value of estates exempted from paying a fee increased from £5,000 to £50,000, estate value over that will pay considerably more, with estates over £2million paying a £20,000 fee.
The full table of revised fees is as follows:-
(Data from The Government response to consultation on proposals to reform fees for grants of probate.)
This will come as a shock to many people, and is a considerable burden in estates where the majority of assets are jointly owned and the Grant is perhaps only required to deal with one asset, given the value of all the estate assets are taken into account when calculating the fee.
If you think this may affect you we suggest you seek urgent advice from our Private Client Department: please contact us.