Increased Probate Fees from April 2019

The Government announced that there will be substantial changes to the level of probate fees being introduced from April 2019.

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The new legislation will raise the estate value threshold from £5,000 to £50,000, which will exclude around 25,000 estates from probate fees altogether. However, estates worth more than £50,000 will see an increased fee with the revised structure ensuring that the value of fees will be more than 0.5% of the estate’s value.

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There is currently a flat fee system charge by the Probate Registry which is £215, or £155 if an estate uses a solicitor to apply for probate.  This applies to all estates over £5,000.

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From April 2019 the Probate Registry fees will be:

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Estates valued between £50,000 and £300,000 will pay a fee of £250.
Those between £300,001 and £500,000 will pay £750.
Estates between £500,001 and a million will pay £2,500.
Estates valued at over £2 million will now pay £6,000 to make a grant of probate application.

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Difficulties could arise where there is no immediate access to funds in the Estate, for example if the Estate comprises just a house or investments and a Grant is needed for release of funds. It may fall upon the beneficiaries to fund the probate fee until the estate assets are administered.

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These fees are purely the court fee for the Grant of Probate to be issued, a process that involves the same amount of work for the courts regardless of the value of the estate.  It is being suggested that there will be a temptation to under value assets if an estate is close to the fees banding, which could prove to be a costly exercise if it results in disputes over valuations.

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If you need help in applying for Probate, please contact us for further information.