We are continuing to see long delays at the Probate Registry. When we submit an application for probate, the usual turnaround time has usually been around 2 weeks. The recent delays, however, have seen applications taking up to 12 or 13 weeks. We have been told that the delays have come about due to an unusually…
Ada Richards, a widow, wrote a Will in 2010, a year before she died aged 92, leaving her fortune, including a £1.5 million home in Highgate, to Tony De Jong who had been her carer in her last years. Ada’s nephews, Derek and Ian Seager, issued a claim that the Will was invalid as Tony…
If you are widowed and your spouse/civil partner was an ISA saver then did you know that you benefit from the right to retain their ISA wrapper? Under the previous system, when someone died, any savings held in an ISA automatically lost their tax-free status, and the tax benefits were lost forever. This meant that…
As a Private Client Solicitor, I am often asked by clients, usually within a Will meeting, “what is Probate?” Probate is defined as a judicial process whereby a Will is proved through the Courts; this, as one might expect, is not an overly helpful or clear explanation to give to clients! Generally speaking, Probate is…
Nowadays many people have second marriages where their new partner already has children, some of whom are adults. If you have a step-child and you have not formally adopted the child, then they will not automatically inherit your estate when you pass away. This is particularly important where the step-child is of adult age and…
The short answer to that question is . . . not yet. In November’s newsletter, I wrote an article warning that the Government was about to bring in a massive increase to the fees charged to obtain probate. The proposed changes will increase probate court fees from the current cost of £215 (or £155 if…
Last year, HM Courts and Tribunals Service proposed a massive increase to the fees charged to obtain probate. This would have seen the charges for the most valuable estates increase to £20,000. Currently, the fees are fixed at £155 for Solicitor applications and £215 for personal applicants. The plans were dropped ahead of the 2017…
