BBC Radio 4 – Money Box: What is probate and why is it taking so long?

When someone dies and leaves a property in their own name or significant savings and investments, executors must apply for probate.

Probate is a legal document which gives them the right to deal with the dead person’s estate and distribute their assets.

But the time taken to grant probate has more than doubled over the last three years, from an average of around seven weeks, to 15. Some bereaved families have been facing delays of nearly a year.

To deal with this, the Probate Service is cutting access to its helpline for three months, to divert resources.

But why are there so many delays, and what can you do in an emergency to hasten the process?

Jo Summers TEP, partner in our private wealth & tax team, spoke to BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme on behalf of STEP, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, calling for more action to deal with the backlog.

She explained:

“The centralisation of the probate registry, a move to digitalisation of services and the spike in excess deaths caused by COVID-19, created a perfect storm for the probate service.

“We would like to see more personnel recruited into the registry, and more senior personnel too, who are experienced and able to make decisions on more complex cases, as well as more involvement with professional bodies like STEP on what is needed.”

Listen to the full interview on BBC Radio 4 here.