Members shared their thoughts on the Ministry of Justice’s proposal to increase probate fees to £273.
Following the news in July that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) plans to increase probate fees, the Law Society has carried out a consultation with our members to gather your opinions and concerns.
Currently, the fees are £155 for professional users and £215 for non-professional users. Under this new structure, there will be one single fee of £273.
Our consultation found that members are concerned about:
- the service provided by HMCTS, noting its admission in June 2021 that it had experienced performance issues following an increase in receipts and an unexpected loss of staff
- changing the model to one flat fee may discourage those in need of professional advice from seeking it
- facing persistent technical issues when using the online services provided by HMCTS
These findings reflect the statement given by I. Stephanie Boyce on the announcement of these proposals: “Any hike in fees now must reflect new and tangible improvements made to the service. At the very least, a commitment from the UK government that revenue from this increase will be used for probate service improvements.”
