Have a question? Call us on 0800 1979 345
This article was published on July 17th, 2019
Those who live in England and Wales could face a rise in probate fees if the proposed reforms take place.
Families who have lost loved ones could see their probate fees rise from £215 or £155 if a probate application is made through a Private Client Solicitor.
These fees currently apply to any estate which has a value of £5,000 or more, with an estate worth less than £5,000 being exempt from any probate fee.
The changes may yet be delayed, however, the reforms could result in the following changes to fees:
Therefore to avoid the price increase it is advised that you apply for probate before April.
Probate is the legal process that must be followed when dealing with the possessions, property and financial assets (including money) of a person who has passed away.
Following the death of an individual, the person appointed to deal with the estate, otherwise known as the Executor, or the next of kin, may wish to sell, transfer or distribute assets, however before they can do this they must apply for probate.
In laymen’s terms, being granted probate equates to receiving permission to carry out the wishes laid out in a person’s will.
If an individual dies without making a will, then they are termed as dying intestate. In this case, a separate set of rules and regulations will apply to those tasked with carrying out the wishes of the deceased.
In England and Wales, you must apply for Probate when the person who has died has left any property including buildings or land, or monetary assets valued at £15,000 or more.
The new banded fee structure has not yet been agreed and the process of implementing the new probate fees is yet to be approved by Parliament, as such no specific implementation date has been set.
If you are in a position where you must seek a grant of probate, it is wise to do so as soon as possible in case you are affected by the rise in fees.
If you are in need of advice about any aspect of the probate process, our team of Wills, Trusts and Probate Solicitors are here to help.
Our team are specialists in their field and are led by Heather Gaunt, a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).
We offer expert probate services and can assist with the process of administering an estate.
If you’d like to arrange an appointment to discuss a matter relating to Wills, Trusts or Probate, please contact our team today on 0800 1979 345 or complete our enquiry form by clicking here.
We offer a free initial consultation and we can also accommodate Saturday morning appointments.
This website privacy notice sets out how Thorneycroft Solicitors uses and protects any information that you give Thorneycroft Solicitors when you use this website.
Thorneycroft Solicitors is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
Thorneycroft Solicitors may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from 01/05/2018.
What we collect
We may collect the following information:
We will collect the information directly from you via completion of our enquiry form on the website.
What we do with the information we gather
We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
We will also collect and process your personal data if you have consented to receiving marketing in respect of our services. You are able to unsubscribe or withdraw your consent at any time by emailing [email protected] or writing to ‘Marketing’ at Thorneycroft Solicitors, 9a Bridge Street Mills, Bridge Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK11 6QA.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
Retention
If you do not instruct us in relation to your legal matter, your personal details will be retained for a period of 12 months.
If we are instructed in relation to your legal matter, we will keep it in line with our data retention periods. Details of our retention period for your legal matter can be found within our Client Care Letter and/or Terms of Business, under the heading file retention.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Your Rights
Google AdWords
This website uses the Google AdWords remarketing service to advertise on third party websites (including Google) to previous visitors to our site. It could mean that we advertise to previous visitors who haven’t completed a task on our site, for example using the contact form to make an enquiry. This could be in the form of an advertisement on the Google search results page, or a site in the Google Display Network. Third-party vendors, including Google, use cookies to serve ads based on someone’s past visits to the website. Of course, any data collected will be used in accordance with our own privacy policy and Google’s privacy policy.
You can set preferences for how Google advertises to you using the Google Ad Preferences page, and if you want to you can opt out of interest-based advertising entirely by cookie settings or permanently using a browser plugin.
×