Increase in Probate Court Fees
As of the 1st of May 2024, the standard probate Court fee in England and Wales has increased.
Following a consultation in November 2023, the Ministry of Justice decided to increase most court fees by 10%.
The standard probate fee has been increased from £273 to £300.
This is despite objections on the grounds of current poor levels of service.
The fee for additional copies of the Grant of Probate or Grant of Letters of Administration remains at £1.50 per copy.
A Grant of Probate applies where the person who died left a Will, and a Grant of Letters of Administration applies where the person who died did not leave a Will.
A person who dies without a Will is deemed to be Intestate.
In addition, there is also a Grant of Letters of Administration with Will annexed, which typically applies where the Will does not name an Executor or the named Executor(s) cannot make the application or choose not to carry out their role as the named Executor(s).
In this situation, one of the named residuary beneficiaries can apply for the Grant.
Probate fees are only payable for estates with a value above £5,000 and are recoverable from the estate after the Grant has been issued.
After an application has been submitted, it will be reviewed by the Probate Service.
Once the application has been approved, the original Will and any additions to it, such as Codicils, will be kept by the Probate Registry and will become a public record.
The Grant will then be issued to the applicant. This process currently takes approximately 16 weeks from the date the application is submitted.
If you need advice on or assistance with estate administration, please contact our Private Client Team, who will be happy to help.