Grieving families face lengthy waits for probate after IT glitches

Grieving families are facing lengthy waits to apply for probate, delaying them taking an important step to gain control over an estate after someone dies.

Lawyers and other inheritance professionals say the usual 10-day process has extended to seven or eight weeks, and 11 in some cases, after an official overhaul. 

The logjam is being worsened by people rushing applications to avoid pending hikes to probate fees. These will rise from £215 to £6,000 on the largest estates, though many inheriting modest assets will pay nothing or much smaller sums.

Official process: Probate is an important step to gain control over an estate after someone dies

The controversial new fees, which critics dub a tax on wealth because they won’t reflect the actual administration costs of getting probate, were expected to be introduced in April.

However, they have also been delayed, for reasons that are unclear but may be due to gridlock caused by Brexit, or concern that opponents will try to stop them getting the final nod in parliament.

People who have already applied for probate won’t have the new fees levied on them, according to the Ministry of Justice. Read the Government’s comments on probate delays below.

What are the problems besetting the probate service, and what do you need to know if you are preparing to apply, or waiting to be granted probate to unlock the assets of a loved one? 

Why are there delays to getting probate?

Solicitors and other inheritance professionals have reported the following issues.

* The introduction of new software is causing technical glitches. 

Ruth Pyatt, director at Solicitors for the Elderly and solicitor at Steeles Law said: ‘We’ve been informed that the delays are a result of the system being transferred to an all-digital, and newly updated computer system, which unfortunately has faced teething problems in its launch.’

* Any errors people make on probate applications are causing further delays. 

Pyatt says: ‘As well as the delays themselves, we now know that if mistakes were made on an original application for probate, the corrected forms risk being put to the back of the queue, meaning people may have to wait up to 15 weeks for a grant of probate.’

* New-style certificates are causing problems.

How much are probate charges? 

 At present, applying for probate costs a flat fee of £215, or £155 if a lawyer does it on your behalf.

In future, it will cost nothing for estates under £50,000, which is more lenient than the current £5,000 threshold for exemption.

But £250 will be levied on estates worth £300,000-£500,000, rising to £6,000 for those worth £2million-plus. See the table below.

 Emily Deane, technical counsel at STEP, says: ‘The grant of probate certificate has also recently changed to a new style certificate and members have been disappointed to note that after a long wait, some of the new grants received have contained errors and are unusable.’

* Impending new fees are creating a rush of applications, putting more pressure on the regional probate registries, according to STEP.

* Local registries have not been answering the phone, members of STEP also report.

* House sales could be delayed, after one local probate registry emailed solicitors asking them to not to set completion dates.

The email says: ‘We have recently moved to a new system and are working our way through a backlog of applications. In the meantime, we would ask you not to commit to a completion deadline when putting properties on the market to sale as we may not be able to accommodate these until the backlog has cleared.’

It adds: ‘Please only contact us if the matter is extremely urgent eg. A house sale where the date for completion has been fixed and is within the next week.’

* Will writing and probate service Farewill says it has heard the probate service’s new software is not correctly meshing with the system that handles ‘caveats’, a challenge to the validity of a will which stops the grant of probate.

Emily Deane of STEP adds: ‘The Probate Service was aware there would be a spike in probate applications due to the imminent probate fee increase so it seemed an odd decision to move to an online system, reduce customer service and change to a new style certificate at the same time.’ 

Changes to charges: System will be based on the size of an estate, replacing fees fixed at £215 for all, or £155 if you use a solicitor. The Government previously intended to introduce much higher charges, but changed its plans following an outcry

Changes to charges: System will be based on the size of an estate, replacing fees fixed at £215 for all, or £155 if you use a solicitor. The Government previously intended to introduce much higher charges, but changed its plans following an outcry

How are people being affected by the delays?

Dan Garrett, co-founder and boss of will writing and probate service Farewill, says of the probate system: ‘When you are dealing with a bereavement it can be a torturous process. You don’t know what is going on. You might really need money that is tied up in the deceased’s account.

You might really need money that is tied up in the deceased’s account 

He says his firm is currently dealing with cases where recently bereaved people are struggling to deal with household finances they have never handled before, while being unable to access their late partner’s money because they are waiting for probate.

‘Most people have no idea where to start with probate. With a solicitor you can end up paying a lot of money to have it explained to you,’ he says.

Garrett advises people struggling with probate to think about whether they know someone personally who has been through it and give them a call.

Dan Garrett: When you are dealing with a bereavement, probate can be a torturous process

Dan Garrett: When you are dealing with a bereavement, probate can be a torturous process

‘People have to go through this process when they are in complete bereavement mode. 

‘So if you are not used to dealing with the household finances and suddenly you have to figure out where all the money, insurance policies, pensions are, and get the house valued, and do the probate form, that can just be totally overwhelming,’ he says.

‘Our take on it is you need someone to help you through that process. If it is your best friend, neighbour or someone who is getting paid for the service, you do need to have someone on your side.’

Garrett says that another difficulty is that today there often isn’t much paperwork as finances are done online, and that can be a problem if you can’t access a partner’s computer or accounts.

He says some email providers allow people to set up a recovery service, so another person can access their messages in case something happens to them.

Garrett said of the overhaul to the probate system: ‘Broadly speaking we are quite pro what they are doing.

‘It’s a pretty antiquated system currently and we do totally support the introduction of new software. When it’s up and running it will mean greater transparency and faster turnaround times.’

‘So, anything that can be done to improve transparency and cut the length of probate is brilliant in our view. It might not be working properly now but we do support what is happening.’

What if you will be affected by the probate fee hike?

The Government has confirmed that if you have already applied for probate, the new fees won’t affect you.

Why have probate ‘taxes’ sparked fierce resistance? 

Critics claim the increased charges are effectively a ‘tax on wealth’, which is expected to raise £155million a year to pay for running the Ministry of Justice, and won’t reflect actual administration costs.

The Government was accused of sneaking through the stealth ‘death tax’ last month by getting it waved through by calling it a fee and thereby avoiding a debate or vote. 

This is Money then discovered in the small print of a document released by the Office for Budget Responsibility following the Spring Statement that the Treasury expects the newly hiked fees to be officially classified as a ‘tax on capital’, rather than a payment for a service. 

This reignited the row, and prompted fresh calls for a thorough look by Parliament.

However, the Ministry of Justice insists the fees are not a tax, and any decision to define them as such would be purely for accounting purposes.

So, the delays don’t mean more people in the system will suddenly face extra charges, although the looming threat of them does mean many will hurry their applications, adding to the backlog.

Law firm Irwin Mitchell recently warned there was a risk of legal claims against executors because they rushed to apply for probate to beat the new fees and made mistakes.

It said beneficiaries of wills could also blame executors for delays that land them with big bills. 

STEP has previously suggested that amended probate fees should only be levied on the estates of people who die after the introduction date, rather than simply to any where a probate application is submitted afterwards.

It said this would lift some pressure off bereaved families at a difficult and emotional time.

This plea seems to have fallen on deaf ears. However, the Government has announced a rule change that will allow people to lodge applications for probate at the old, cheaper rate without waiting for HMRC to complete a key bit of red tape.

Executors for estates that are complicated or liable for inheritance tax have to get a stamped IHT421 form from the taxman which confirms that the estate value is approved, and inheritance tax is paid.

This form normally needs to be sent with a probate application, but the Government says it will accept submissions without the document, although not actually start work on them or issue the grant of probate until it arrives.

What does the Government say about probate delays?

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told Money Mail: ‘Some delays have been experienced. We are working hard to accommodate those affected and apologise for any inconvenience caused.’

It acknowledged there had been some delays of up to four weeks as a result of transitioning to a new IT system. 

When an application contains an error, the applicant is informed and asked to resubmit it, but there is no mechanism to move them to the front of the queue.

However, the MOJ believes the new online application system should make it much harder for people to make mistakes in the first place, due to improved guidance, the process being simplified, and warning messages in-built into the system.

A new Courts and Tribunal Service Centre has opened in Birmingham, which the MoJ says means overall resources have increased, not decreased.

Meanwhile, it denies there is an issue with the system for caveats ‘meshing’ with the online systems for application, with both being managed within the same system and working in alignment.

An MoJ spokesperson told This is Money: ‘Our new online service is making probate simpler and more convenient for bereaved people.

‘The reforms safeguard the integrity of the probate process while also meaning that, for most people, they no longer need to travel to a probate registry or solicitors office to swear an oath. 

‘This speeds up the process while making it more straightforward and efficient.’ 

HM Courts and Tribunals Service runs the probate service, while the Ministry of Justice has separately overseen the increase in probate charges.

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