Changes to the Probate Registry Court fee for Application for Grants of Representations

As you may have heard in the news recently, the Ministry of Justice have proposed changes to the fees payable for an application for a Grant of Representation. The proposed fee regime is as follows:-

• moving from the current flat fee of £155 for applications for a Grant of Probate to a banded structure where the fees increase in line with the value of the Estate, up to a maximum of £20,000
• raising the threshold below which no fee is payable from £5,000 to £50,000

Although the proposal still needs to be agreed by the Government, we are potentially looking at a massive court fee hike for most applications for a Grant made after 1st May. If, as we expect, it does receive parliamentary approval then the new fees will be as follows:-

Table 1: New fee structure Value of estate (before inheritance tax) Proposed Fee
Up to £50,000 or exempt from requiring a grant of probate £0
Exceeds £50,000 but does not exceed £300,000 £300
Exceeds £300,000 but does not exceed £500,000 £1,000
Exceeds £500,000 but does not exceed £1m £4,000
Exceeds £1m but does not exceed £1.6m £8,000
Exceeds £1.6m but does not exceed £2m £12,000
Above £2m £20,000