For help or guidance please seek the services of a qualified practitioner. However, it is still uncertain when the new fee regime will be implemented with the continued disruption in parliament. At the end of March 2019 a new IT system was introduced as part of an HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) court reform program. Until then, we will of course continue to do everything we can to progress matters as swiftly as possible for our clients but the significant delays in obtaining grants of probate are, sadly, entirely beyond our control. It will issue grants of probate in approximately six to eight weeks. From now on, solicitors are obliged to make most Probate applications online rather than by post. Unfortunately, in recent months significant delays in applications have meant that Applications are now taking between ten to fifteen … From 30 November 2020, all grants of probate applications (where there’s a Will) made by solicitors, must be made using the new online Her Majesty Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) service, as … December 21, 2020 * For clients who currently have a Probate case with us * After someone has died there are a lot of things to sort out and we know that this can be very stressful. Probate delays and online probate service: An update. The Probate application process can take some time. ( Log Out /  It has taken on 30 new staff since the transfer to the new system. The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) met HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) at the end of June, together with The Law Society and Solicitors for the Elderly, to obtain an update on the delays and disruption to the probate service. Even the Central Probate Registry will not answer any queries, unless the current estimated turnaround time of eight weeks has passed since the application was submitted. Going on date order, 6-8 weeks to issue and 20,000 a month we should have had the majority of these back by now. 2. The very few we had back this week are not in date order in any way shape or form. DELAYS to processing probate are seeing bereaved families waiting months for their request to be granted following technical glitches in the new … The delays started in 2019 when there was a proposed probate fee increase which meant the probate service received a huge number of applications in a very short period of time. Probate fees increase delay: an update. Probate wait hits two months: Bereaved families facing long delays to gain control of loved ones' finances. Change ), You are commenting using your Twitter account. Probate Delays - Update ... As any keen reader of our blog will have noted by now, there has been an ongoing debacle at the Probate Registries (part of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service), which has resulted in substantial delays in issuing Grants of Probate. The Probate service are currently unable to provide updates on how your case is progressing in the first 8 weeks. Grant of Probate delays – update July 11, 2019. Phoebe Tranter, who handles probate at solicitors Lawson-West in Leicester, says last year there were long delays at the the probate registry, the part of the HMCTS that issues these grants. In some recent cases, we have been waiting over four months for a Grant. Update 21 November: HM Courts & Tribunal Service (HMCTS) has announced this week that all legal professionals’ probate calls have been centralised and are now dealt with by the Birmingham Courts and Tribunals Service Centre (CTSC).You will no longer be required to contact a local registry if you need an update on your client’s applications. Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. STEP will be meeting HMCTS again in August for a further briefing. Delays began in 2019 when a proposal to increase probate fees led to a surge of applications in a short space of time. Applying for the legal right to deal with someone’s property, money and possessions (their ‘estate’) when they die is called ‘applying for probate’. Those that have continued to work are working from home. However, in light of Covid-19 and changes to internal operating systems, the Probate Registry is now taking significantly longer to issue a Grant. In some cases this is taking up to 12 weeks, rather than the week to ten days which used to be the case. Probate Delays: A Guide for Executors. We can only hope that, as the new procedures become more familiar and technical issues are ironed out, things will start to improve. Our experience here at Hugh James is that applications are continuing to take at … Severe Delays Continue for Probate Applications: Update. HMCTS anticipates that once its new digital system is up and running, there will be less scope for administrative and human error. The registry with the most significant backlog is Winchester, which is sharing its work with other registries. Delays were sparked by a software glitch which coincided with a spike in applications, as executors rushed to beat the probate fee hike which was due to be implemented in April. The solicitor Coles Miller has highlighted the issue of bereaved families having to wait longer for probate to be granted, which is in turn jeopardising executor sales of property. But Melinda Giles from the Law Society wills and equity committee told Private Eye: "We believe the problems are to do with the delays at HMRC as much as the probate office.” A Law Society update on the issue in September explained: “Inheritance tax queries still remain the highest proportion of stops both on paper and digitally. By Gill Steel. This means it is very difficult to get a substantive update in respect of an application. We stressed that this would help ease some of the time pressure and negligence concerns of our members, and generate some much-needed goodwill. If you have an urgent query please email them (not us!) It is dealing with grants in date order, oldest first. Of course, the ongoing pandemic has not helped matters and it can only be hoped that, as organisations adapt and find new ways of working, things will start to run more smoothly. It will continue to accept paper applications for those less able to deal with applying online. This year, deaths in the UK are potentially at their highest for 100 years, possibly reaching between 687,000 and 695,000. ( Log Out /  Back in May 2019, we wrote about how probate registries in England and Wales were suffering from processing delays on Grant of Probate and Grant of Letter of Administration applications. Clients applying for ‘probate’ are having to wait several weeks longer than is usual because of considerable delays with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Probate Registries, writes Jonathan Edwards, Senior Chartered Legal Executive in our Private Client Department. Please do not contact them while they review your application. The time taken to obtain a Grant of Probate has once again risen and with limited telephone lines, it has become incredibly difficult to even obtain an update on an application once it has been sent. It currently has 180 employees working across the Probate Service. Designed to streamline the process, HMRC will now liaise directly with the Probate Registry in order to confirm that the Inheritance Tax return has been submitted by the executor. The delays at the Probate Registries in issuing grants of representation are being widely mentioned in the media. Change ), EW probate delays and disruption: an update. (There are some exceptions to this). We are here to help. The probate system should be back to normal in a matter of weeks, HM Courts & Tribunals Service has claimed - but solicitors still complain of long delays… In some recent cases, we have been waiting over four months for a Grant. Thankfully, they are prioritising grants according to urgency – specifically around property sales. Disclaimer: LawSkills provides training for the legal industry and does not provide legal advice to members of the public. Probate registry delays – an update Probate practitioners and personal representatives are continuing to see long delays at the probate registry . Legal Updates, Wills, Tax and Probate There is currently a delay in the Government proposals to change the structure of probate registry fees in England and Wales which were set to come into force in April 2019. Users will be able to track applications and make corrections online. STEP has asked HMCTS to consult with HMRC on this issue, to see if it will waive the interest accrued on outstanding IHT, or permit a longer timeframe for paying by instalments. What has been the problem? However, this unfortunately seems to have had the opposite effect and there have been significant teething problems with marrying up the HMRC returns with the Probate applications. The CTSC will be able to confirm whether … Historically, once the application for Probate had been submitted, the Probate Registry usually processed the application and issued the Grant of Probate within a couple of weeks, allowing the executors to then get on with the rest of the administration of the estate. Phone lines are closed. Author: Caroline Billings. 1. The statement also explains the reasoning behind the delays and the measures HMCTS are taking to improve the service it provides. Typical waiting times: Probate applications currently (allegedly) take eight weeks to be fully processed. It will not refund probate fees due to delay. There has been quite an overhaul of the way in which applications are submitted, with the recent advent of the online application process. Probate delays. It does not prioritise grants according to urgency, and will not deal with applications more quickly by request. Bereaved families STILL face massive probate delays after months of chaos and there's no firm start date for fee hikes of up to 2,700%. Probate registries have tried to implement measures to tackle the delays… Probate update: Delays in the industry are affecting clients. Probate registry delays. This coincided with the … This, of course, can have serious repercussions for the estate, for example where a property sale hangs in the balance. By Fiona Parker For The Daily Mail. Probate Delays Updates. The delays were discussed in the House of Lords on 12 June 2019, during which Lord Keen noted that there had been a 22% increase in the volume of applications in March and April, most probably because people were concerned that the proposed hike in probate fees was going to be introduced in April 2019. In Probate. © CooperBurnett LLP 2018 - 2020  | Website by Target Ink. Probate delays There have been a number of reports in the news regarding the ongoing probate delays but what is behind the current problems? Probate Registry Delays in England and Wales Update Probate fees The Ministry of Justice has now confirmed that it has abandoned its proposal to change probate application fees from the current fixed fee to a sliding scale with a maximum fee of £6,000. Published: 17:13 EST, 9 June 2020 | … The usual turnaround time for a grant of probate application is two weeks, but the recent delays have meant applications are taking five to twelve weeks; some practitioners have reported delays of up to thirteen weeks. But the system is still very much in its infancy and there are numerous glitches which will need to be ironed out as time goes on. HMCTS gave us the following update on work undertaken since our last meeting on 14 May: STEP’s request for waived interest, or longer timeframe. Can I assume that you challenged these points? Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. We haven’t. If you have received grants not in date order, it is most likely that they were sent to other registries to help with the backlog. All applications now have to be sent to a central registry, where they are then allocated and sent on to whichever Probate Registry has capacity to take them. HMCTS gave the following update on work undertaken since the 14 th May:- When someone passes away, it is often necessary for the executors named in their Will to obtain a ‘Grant of Probate’ in order to administer their estate. Date Updated 10 October 2019. While probate is designed to make estate planning run smoothly, there have been well documented delays at the probate registry in recent months as coronavirus delayed state processes. It is entering caveats into the system on the day of receipt. Probate Registry Delays – Why Is It Taking Longer To Receive A Grant Of Probate? 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