Steep staff cuts at Probate Service blamed for worsening delays

Drastic staff cuts particularly at senior levels at the Probate Service are causing worsening delays for bereaved families trying to unlock estates, say legal experts.

Lengthening wait times are causing emotional anguish to relatives, as property sales collapse and crucial deadlines to reclaim tax on investment losses are missed, lawyers have previously warned. 

The Probate Service shrank by more than a third from 188 to 123 staff over the three years to 2021/22, according to Ministry of Justice figures obtained in a Freedom of Information request by law firm Nockolds.

This official data also revealed the number of more experienced staff at executive officer level and above more than halved during this period, from 65 to 29.

At the highest grades of the Probate Service, senior executive officers were slashed from 12 to one, and at the boss level from four to two. 

However, following a recruitment drive starting last December, the workforce stood at 262 by March this year.

Applying for probate is a vital step to gain control over an estate after someone dies, allowing executors to access bank accounts, settle debts and sort out bequests, but lawyers and money experts have flagged problems in the process experienced by their clients.

The probate service is run by HM Courts and Tribunals Service, although controversially some work such as scanning wills has been outsourced.

An HMCTS spokesperson said: ‘Since December last year, we have recruited and trained 100 new members of staff which has seen a rapid increase in the number of grants processed – with March seeing the highest number approved since January 2020.

‘Over 90 per cent of applications are done digitally and processed within seven weeks on average, but we know delays are frustrating and [are] looking at how we can bring down waiting times further.’

HMCTS says there is ‘constant upskilling’ of staff to ensure the correct resources are available for complex cases, and it is continuing to receive high volumes of probate applications following the Covid-19 pandemic. 

It adds that its focus is on trying to reduce the wait time for paper applications which are more complex and take longer. 

However, the sharp decline in the number of experienced staff processing probate applications suggests delays may worsen, according to Nockolds.

‘The huge increase in delays affecting more complex probate applications is explained by the sharp fall in the number of more experienced staff,’ says partner Sarah Lockyer.

‘Many of these cases will require a higher level of legal knowledge and judgement, and while streamlining the service is to be welcomed if it brings cost and time savings to those using it, the reverse seems to be the case.’

She adds: ‘The deterioration in the timeliness of the probate service has coincided with a significant hike in fees.’

Probate fees were hiked 27 per cent to a flat £273 in January 2022. 

If you use a professional, like a lawyer, the hike was 76 per cent as the large discount for doing this was scrapped. Probate fees are waived for estates worth £5,000 and under.

Nockolds repeated its previous complaints that around half of the probate cases it is currently dealing with are still unresolved 12 months after death, and that bereaved families are ‘at their wits’ end’ and facing financial difficulties because of delays.

The STEP body of inheritance professionals said regarding Probate Service staffing figures: ‘This data confirms the experience of many of STEP’s expert members that a reduction in senior probate service staff is part of the reason for delays to probate being granted.

‘These delays can cause significant distress to families who may need probate to resolve financial matters, such as selling the family home. 

‘We would recommend that married couples consider joint accounts to help avoid the distress that probate delays can cause.’

According to the most recent official figures, the average wait time for both paper and digital applications from submission to granting of probate was 10.8 weeks in the first three months of the year, up from 9.6 weeks in the final quarter of 2022.

The average delay for digital applications, which are typically faster, rose to 8 weeks from 7.3 weeks over the same periods.

Delays are often caused when applications are stopped due to a dispute, problem with a will or errors in applications, say legal experts.

‘Majority of cases we have seen take around 20 weeks’

‘To remove experienced Court staff, only to suffer such severe delays that it results in the necessary recruitment of over 100 untrained new recruits seems like a series of poor and costly decisions,’ says Jade Gani, chief executive of Circe Law and a direct of Solicitors for the Elderly.

‘Bereaved families are unable to get the closure they need as delays increase the overall administration of their loved one’s estate.

‘I am aware of some “simple” online applications which have been returned to practitioners within six weeks, however, the majority of cases we have seen are around 20 weeks. This really isn’t good enough.’

Amy Wallhead, partner at Culver Law and also an SFE director, says: ‘As well as the fall in property and shares prices due to the delays, there is also the additional interest on inheritance tax which is outstanding.

‘Whilst the families are waiting to get access to the funds, interest on inheritance tax is accruing. At the start of this year, it was 5.5 per cent and now it is 7 per cent.

‘In addition, there are other stresses on families not being able to access funds of the deceased. For example, being unable to pay care fees for loved ones.

‘I’ve heard of cases where being unable to access bank accounts or sell a property to release funds is causing issues for paying for care for surviving relatives [and] beneficiaries of the estate where these assets are now included in any financial assessment for paying for care.’