Millions facing large rise in death fees
Millions of people across the UK face a large rise in fees payable after death, to raise an extra £250m for the courts service. At the moment probate fees are fixed at either £155 or £215 but the Ministry of Justice wants an increase. Currently the fee is chargeable on any estate worth more than £5,000, but the threshold will now rise to £50,000, meaning that 57% of estates will pay nothing. However, anyone with an estate worth more than £50,000 will pay considerably more, and those worth between £50,000 and £300,000 will pay £300, with fees rising to a maximum of £20,000 for estate worth more than £2m.