Currently the courts charge a fixed fee of £215 to grant probate(less if you use a solicitor), on estates worth more than £5,000 where asset holders require a grant to release the assets. The Ministry of Justice admits this covers the cost of the probate service but that the Courts and Tribunals Service overall doesn't cover its costs. The proposal is for a massive hike in the fee for larger estates to raise an extra £250m a year.
The good news is there will be no fee for up to £50,000 estates, but it will be £4,000 for an estate of £500,000.
I am administering an estate at the moment where the fee would be 77 times higher than it currently is! The department is "consulting" interested parties, but it is probably a done deal.
34 year old assisted euthanasia
