Probate fee hike abandonment welcomed…with a warning

The ditching of proposed substantial hikes in probate fees by the Government has been welcomed by financial experts.

The radical changes, increasing from the current flat rate of £215 to £20,000 for larger estates, were due next month, but have been shelved following the announcement of the General Election on June 8.

But chartered accountants and business advisers PKF Francis Clark have warned that the reprieve from what has been described as a tax on grieving families may only be temporary.

Lisa Macpherson, the firm’s Head of Tax Technical, said: “The abandonment of these proposals gives us a further opportunity to put in probate applications at the current cost up to – and for a short while after – the general election.

“Unfortunately, this is probably at most a temporary reprieve. We expect the Government to return to these proposals, however, if the Conservatives do win the upcoming election - although we don’t yet know what the final position will be.”

PKF Francis Clark, which has an office in Plymouth, had been urging its clients where possible to put in applications before the new fees, announced only in February, became law.

Lisa added: “We continue to recommend that applications are made now because they can take significant time to put together, especially where there are foreign assets, business assets and lifetime gifts to consider.”

She said there could still be a legal challenge if the proposals were resurrected as some MPs and tax professionals have queried whether it is actually within the Government’s power to make them.

Probate grants legal rights to a third person to deal with the property, money and possessions of someone who has died.

In most cases – such as estates under £15,000 or one passed to a spouse – it is not necessary, but the changes would have particularly impacted larger and more complex estates.

Founded in 1919, PKF Francis Clark has a team of more than 600 people and 60 partners in eight offices across Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

www.pkf-francisclark.co.uk