MSE News: Probate fees set to skyrocket from next month

Former_MSE_Steve_1

The cost of sorting out someone's property, money and possessions after they've died will increase for many next month, with some to face fees of £20,000...

Read the full story:
'Probate fees set to skyrocket from next month, despite parliamentary challenge'

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Pincher

If the Probate Office actually scrutinises how much the lawyers overcharge, then I would be delighted to pay it. Instead, they seem to joining in on the fleecing.

Yorkshireman99

Pincher wrote: »

If the Probate Office actually scrutinises how much the lawyers overcharge, then I would be delighted to pay it. Instead, they seem to joining in on the fleecing.

The only really big rises are for estates above £300,000 and half of estates will pay less or nothing. Not nearly as bad as the hype suggests.

Crabapple

The article says the £50,000 limit under which no fee is payable is not changing.

Currently it is under £5,000 not £50,000 so the change would benefit lower value estates.

Doc_N

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The only really big rises are for estates above £300,000 and half of estates will pay less or nothing. Not nearly as bad as the hype suggests.

Given that a 2 bedroom flat in outer London is worth well over £300,000 I think a lot of ordinary people might challenge that assertion.

Current fees stand at a fixed £215 for individual applications, and £155 for those applying for probate through a solicitor. So the saving for smaller estates is trifling.

Yorkshireman99

Doc_N wrote: »

Given that a 2 bedroom flat in outer London is worth well over £300,000 I think a lot of ordinary people might challenge that assertion.

Current fees stand at a fixed £215 for individual applications, and £155 for those applying for probate through a solicitor. So the saving for smaller estates is trifling.

Outer london is not representative of the country as a whole.

Doc_N

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

Outer london is not representative of the country as a whole.

Of course - and I don't live there - but in terms of sheer numbers it represents a sizeable chunk of the total population.

The point I'm making, though, is that £300,000 isn't exactly a huge estate once a property has been included, and that's the case all over the UK.

This is just another concealed tax dressed up as something else to try to hide the fact. It has nothing whatever to do with probate, and everything to do with tax raising. It's simply an add-on to IHT.

Keep_pedalling

Doc_N wrote: »

It's simply an add-on to IHT.

Not really, most estates effected by this are more than compensated by the introduction of the new primary residence nil rate band. Those who cant benefit from that because they have no direct descendants, really should spend more as they cant take it with them.

The big fees have been introduced because the government failed to get court fees increased and this is an alternative way of raising that revenue, although they may be running into difficulty here as well do to lack of parliamentary approval.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/apr/06/trusss-plan-to-increase-probate-fees-may-not-be-legally-enforceable

getmore4less

Yorkshireman99 wrote: »

The only really big rises are for estates above £300,000 and half of estates will pay less or nothing. Not nearly as bad as the hype suggests.

Doc_N wrote: »

Given that a 2 bedroom flat in outer London is worth well over £300,000 I think a lot of ordinary people might challenge that assertion.

Current fees stand at a fixed £215 for individual applications, and £155 for those applying for probate through a solicitor. So the saving for smaller estates is trifling.

given around 1/2 of all estates never go to probate it is significantly more than 1/2 that will not be paying any/low fees.

Of those that get a grant around 10% are under £50k and 30%(15% of all) over £300k.

a significant number of those will pay lower fees as they will include joint asset not counted for the fees.

also only around 4% of all estates pay tax.

Doc_N

getmore4less wrote: »

given around 1/2 of all estates never go to probate it is significantly more than 1/2 that will not be paying any/low fees.

Of those that get a grant around 10% are under £50k and 30%(15% of all) over £300k.

a significant number of those will pay lower fees as they will include joint asset not counted for the fees.

also only around 4% of all estates pay tax.

Maybe. But the fees paid by a large number of estates including a house will increase by a huge amount. Thousands of pounds more. These are not fees in any senseof the word. It's yet another new hidden tax that mostpeople won't be aware of until a family member dies and they get stung for thousands of pounds.

Malthusian

Doc_N wrote: »

These are not fees in any senseof the word. It's yet another new hidden tax that mostpeople won't be aware of until a family member dies and they get stung for thousands of pounds.

How is it "hidden"? It's been prominently covered in every single major newspaper and anyone who takes the remotest interest in their own finances and wants to know what happens to their money on death will quickly find out from a professional or from a website like this one. You're not a member of WASPI by any chance?

Anyone who gets upset about being "stung" by it must exist in a perpetual state of outrage when they find that every time they receive a paycheque they get stung by hidden taxes starting at 34% of their income and every time they buy something they get stung by a hidden tax of 20% of its value.

I really struggle to sympthaise with someone who leaves hundreds of thousands of pounds and doesn't take two minutes to find out how the system works.