It has recently been announced by the Ministry of Justice that from this month the fees for copies of a Grant of Probate will be increasing from £1.50 to £16 per additional copy. Of course, this is on top of the application fee of £300.
It has also been announced that there will be an increase to the Office of the Public Guardian’s registration fees for registering Lasting Powers of Attorney and Enduring Powers of Attorney. These fees will increase from £82 per document to £92 per document.
Whilst these might seem like quite hefty increases it is important to bear in mind that the fees have remained unchanged for quite some time.
Applying for a Grant of Probate is often unavoidable if the assets in a deceased’s estate require it i.e. a property which needs to be sold. Fortunately for the Executors, such fees are payable by the deceased’s estate, and so whilst caution should still be exercised to ensure that funds aren’t being spent unnecessarily, funds should be available to cover the costs.
The increase to the registration fees for registering Lasting or Enduring Powers of Attorney should also not deter you from preparing, or registering, these documents when required.
Enduring Powers of Attorney cannot be made anymore (as they were replaced by Lasting Powers of Attorney some years ago), but there is a legal requirement to register an Enduring Power of Attorney when the Attorneys feel that the person who made the Enduring Power of Attorney (the Donor) is losing or has lost capacity. Again, the fee for registering the document can be recovered by the Attorney from the Donor’s funds.
Similarly, the increase to the registration fee for Lasting Powers of Attorney should not put anyone off from preparing the documents in the first place. Lasting Powers of Attorney are essential for giving others authority to make decisions about your finances and/or health if there comes a time when you cannot make these decisions for yourself. If you lose mental capacity without having a Lasting Power of Attorney in place then the fees associated with an application to the Court of Protection can run into the thousands.
How we can help
If you would like to discuss applications for Probate, Lasting Powers of Attorney or Enduring Powers of Attorney further please do not hesitate to contact me on freephone 0800 011 6666 or via email at c.day@timms-law.com.
