Families face paying up to £6000 to execute a will of a deceased relative, after the government this week confirmed it was pressing ahead with reforms to Probate Charges.
From April 2019 a six band Probate fee structure, will replace the flat fee of £250, or £155 if the estates are settled through a solicitor.
The fee allows an executor to distribute a deceased property.
Those with estates valued between £50,000 and £300,000 will pay £250. Those with estates worth £500,000 to 1 Million pounds will pay £2,500.
Those with estates worth over 2 Million pounds, will face the maximum £6000 fee, a 3,770% increase on the current cost.
This is essentially a form of taxation being proposed outside of any budget, presumably to attract less attention and security.
There is no difference in the work required by the Probate Registry in respect of these estates, and it is this issue for many that reinforces a belief that this is in effect a stealth tax.