Probate Fees Set To Increase
You may have heard on the news that the Government is yet again returning to the question of increasing probate fees.
On 7 February 2019, the House of Commons Delegated Legislation Committee voted to progress these changes – so what are the new fees going to be? And when are they going to be introduced? Should you be applying for probate now?

While the changes are yet to be approved by the House of Commons and a date for that has not yet been announced, the proposed changes will mean an increased fee for any Estate which is worth over £50,000.
At the moment, no fee is payable if the Estate is worth less than £5,000, and there is a flat fee of £155 if you are applying through a solicitor, or £215 if you are applying personally. If these changes are introduced, the fees could go up to as much as £6,000!
The proposed new fees are as follows:
Estates worth less than £50,000 £0
Estates worth from £50,000 up to £300,000 £250
Estates worth from £300,000 up to £500,000 £750
Estates worth from £500,000 up to £1 million £2,500
Estates worth from £1 million up to £1.6 million £4,000
Estates worth from £1.6 million up to £2 million £5,000
Estates worth more than £2 million £6,000
No date has been set for these proposed changes, but they are likely to be implemented in April 2019. Therefore, if you are concerned about these increases, you may wish to submit your application before the new fees are introduced. Any probate application submitted before the change, should only incur the existing fees.
Probate applications can take several weeks/months to finalise, so it may be worth obtaining all the advice you need as soon as possible.
If you are concerned about these changes and wish to obtain legal advice, then please do not hesitate to contact our offices.

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Just a short note to once again express my sincere thanks to you, Sue and the M&U team, for all your help, cooperation and first class professional support. I am most grateful to you all.
Chris Stephenson, Warminster