Probate Fees Hike Ditched

You may remember it was only a few weeks ago that we were reporting despite the objections of nearly every practitioner, the government was nevertheless ploughing ahead with their proposed hike in Probate Fees. For the larger estates worth more than £2m in value, families were facing a fee of £20,000.

Our Head of Wills Probate + Tax Planning is George Persson.

‘It would be nice to say that this government U-turn has come about because the Ministry of Justice had listened to what objectors like myself had been saying,’ says George. ‘The reality however is that this new indirect tax on death, scheduled to come into effect next month, has been shelved due to the announcement of the early election. However, regardless of the reason, the abandonment of this proposal is hugely welcome.’

‘The proposals were putting a huge amount of pressure on families at a time when they have just suffered a bereavement, and were likely to create significant unintended negative consequences in the future,’ adds George.

‘Whatever happens in the election, I would certainly hope that this bad idea now stays buried.’

If you want to find out more on how this latest action could affect you then email George at gpersson@th-law.co.uk or call him on 01761 409 322