The Probate Application Process
In this edition of Legal Chat, Private Client lawyer Rhiannon Winter discusses the recent changes made to the Probate application process as well as its pros and cons.
If you would like to speak to a legal expert regarding the Probate process click on the link below to arrange a FREE initial consultation and speak to a professional today.
Probate Application Process Interview
The below text is a brief summary of some of the questions and answers from the above radio interview.
What has changed since the introduction of the probate application process in January 2022?
The recent change only focusses on death since the 1st January 2022. The reason for change was to streamline the process for applying for probate as there has been a history of delays with the probate registry.
What was the process before?
What happened before the change was that the types of estates that fell into an ‘accepted estates’ had a value of less that £1 million. What changed since January 1st 2022 is that the value is less than £3 million which means that a lot more estates fall into the accepted estates scheme. Furthermore, the type of paperwork that is submitted has massively reduced.
Since there is now an online portal, the deaths since January 1st 2022 just require information to be submitted online. The information submitted is limited compared to the IHT205 & IHT217 which were used to submit information about the estate originally.
What are the pros of the new process?
The new change was designed to speed up the process and we have seen that grants of probate have been received much quicker compared to before the change (sometimes within 4-weeks).
When does an estate become taxable?
Currently, everyone has a NIL rate band which is £325’000. There is another allowance which is called the residence NIL rate band which is another £175’000 but that depends upon on leaving your estate to descendants and having a residence. There are also some more fiddly bits to that allowance which require a bit more thought.
Why hiring a legal expert can help you
Many clients receive suggestions and information that they would not have known by themselves which can even save them from any unnecessary tax. There are lots of small gaps that only legal experts know which is why it is recommended that you seek legal advice instead of sorting the probate out on your own.
