From today, applying for a grant of probate allowing a deceased individual's personal representatives to administer their estate will cost £273, irrespective of whether the application is made by a professional or not (previously, the rate was £215 where a personal representative made the application themselves, or £155 where a solicitor applied on their behalf).

Many families will breathe a huge sigh of relief that earlier proposals for a probate fee structure based on the value of the deceased's estate have ended in a comparatively small price rise; under those previous proposals the maximum cost of obtaining a grant of probate at one point reached an astronomical £20,000 (subsequently reduced to £6,000 before being thankfully dropped altogether). However, the current increases nevertheless raise a number of questions.

First, is it right to align the cost of professional and personal applications?  The support of an experienced professional can be invaluable to personal representatives at a difficult time and also makes it more likely that the application will be free of mistakes, allowing it to be granted more quickly and with less work from the already overburdened probate service at HM Courts and Tribunals (HMCTS). There is a risk that, by bringing the two fees into line, more people will decide to apply without professional assistance, even where such help would have been appropriate and valuable.

The second question is whether HMCTS can justify this increase, on the back of several years of poor performance, seeing significant delays in probate applications and, at times, a seeming lack of organisation and training from within which has led to many professionals voicing concerns.  The justification given is that the additional revenue will be invested in the probate service, being used to continue funding the new online system which is replacing the traditional paper based system and which, it is hoped, will streamline the process and increased turnaround times for bereaved families.   We will have to wait to see if that is the case.