The Probate fee increase has been scrapped!

In order to obtain a Grant of Representation from the Probate Registry (which includes a Grant of Probate), an application fee must be paid.

The application fee is currently a flat fee of £155 if a Solicitor makes the application or £215 if the application is not made through a Solicitor.  If the estate is under £5,000 there is no fee. Our team at Johnson Astills can help you through this process.

Application fees payable were all set to change.

The Government recommended a sliding scale linked to the value of the estate.

For example, estates under £50,000 would be exempt from paying the fee. However, estates over £2,000,000 would have to pay fees of up to £6,000!

The new fees were intended to be introduced in April 2019 but the proposed increase has now been officially scrapped. Pressure against the fee increase came from The Law Society who strongly opposed reform. There was also opposition from the public and MPs; the plans were never brought to a vote in the House of Commons.

According to the Law Society, their arguments against the fee hike were citied in Parliament 13 times and they were featured in 26 pieces of national media coverage including Sky News, the Financial Times and the Daily Telegraph.

The Law Society have said that the disproportionate level of the proposed fees would have effectively amounted to stealth tax and the use of a statutory instrument to implement them. This is a route that allows less parliamentary scrutiny than formal legislation which would have set a dangerous precedent for future tax rises.

If you would like information about our Probate Pricing, click visit our Probate Pricing page.

If you would like further information about Probate or if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Johnson Astills to speak to a Solicitor in our Wills and Probate Team.