Last November, the Government proposed a new regime for fees for non-contentious probate matters which would have seen the flat fee of £215 (or £155 for those applying through a solicitor) replaced by a tiered charging structure starting at £0 for estates worth less than £50,000, increasing, depending on the size of the estate, to a maximum of £6,000 for estates worth more than £2million. The controversial fee increase was set to take place in April 2019 but was delayed due to pressure on Parliamentary time caused by Brexit.
On Monday, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the proposed fee increase had been abandoned. However, it is important to note that the fees will still be reviewed as part of the Ministry of Justice's annual assessment of civil and family court costs and charges. We will have to wait and see whether these are "fair and proportionate" as promised.
If you have any questions about probate fees or need help administering an estate, please get in touch with our Administration of Estates Team.
‘While fees are necessary to properly fund our world-leading courts system, they must be fair and proportionate. We will withdraw these proposals, and keep the current system while we take a closer look at these court fees as part of our annual wider review.’
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/inherently-unfair-probate-fee-hike-scrapped/5101797.article
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